Sweet, yet bitter
by SquallsCorner
Summary: Would you rather be alone or afraid? Lonely yet powerful or powerful yet weak? Two very different girls will experience different problems from experiments preformed on them. No yaoi. Violence and sex will happen later. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing. Please, please, please review and it would be totally awesome if you told me which character you liked more and why! I would, like, give you a virtual hug! **

Almost every night for almost three years now there was a young girl-whose hair color and eye never stayed the same for more than three weeks-who walked outside Vincent Valentine's house. This man stood at the perfect height of six feet and had a golden gauntlet on his right hand. He wore black pants and a black shirt that button all up the side. On his feet were golden, pointed shoes similar to the gauntlet on his hand. The man had ebony hair that looked even darker next to his red, tattered cape, which matched his crimson eyes and red bandana around his forehead.

He watched this girl walk, always wondering what she was doing, but never bothered to ask. This night was different for the fact she didn't just walk around, go into town, and then return in fifteen minutes exactly. Instead, on this night, she knocked on his door.

Vincent, being a man who couldn't ignore someone knocking, opened it to find this woman at his doorstep, "Good evening." He said looking down at her curiously.

This being the first time they had ever been up close, he noticed that her dyed pink hair looked soft and fluffy like cotton candy and it matched her pink contacts. She was five feet and five inches tall and wore pants that feel over her feet, yet even then she had to wear a belt to hold them up. Her shirt fit her much better and made her look curvier than she actually was. Instead of simply saying what she wanted to say, she made a high pitch noise that sounded much like a dolphin.

"...Why, pray tell, are you making dolphin sounds?" The man asked after listening to her for some time.

She stopped and looked at him as if he just asked a stupid question. "Well," She started, having a calm and normal sound voice like any other girl at what looked like eighteen would sound like, "I wasn't sure if you were an alien or dolphin and everyone knows that aliens speak dolphin. It's just a fact."

Vincent nodded slowly wondering if this woman was stable. "Well, alright." He arched a curious eyebrow at her while keeping his red eyes serious.

She blinked twice, having a naive smile plastered on her face, but didn't seem like she knew exactly why she was there and if she did, she wasn't saying.

"Do you need something, ma'am?" Vincent asked, politely.

"Can I borrow one piece of Gil? I promise I'll pay you back," She said, not realizing it was rude to ask someone for Gil if they've never talked until just now.

"Just one?" He asked, making sure she said that amount. It wasn't much at all.

"Well, the juice at the convenience store that way," She said and pointed to her left, which caused for the rainbow color of jewelry on her wrist to jingle, "Is three Gil and I need one more piece of Gil to get it. I drink juice every night."

"Alright." He said, getting out his wallet, "Here is one Gil; don't worry about paying me back, since the sum isn't substantial."

She took out her own wallet that was black with paint splattered all over it and then pulled out two Gil, giving it to him. "Here: One to pay you back and another for brushing your hair today."

He looked at the two Gil, "Pardon?" He was thoroughly confused.

She blinked twice again and had that naive smile again. "That's two pieces of Gil, innit?"

"Yes, I know that..." Vincent said, then decided it was best not to question her, "Well, you better go retrieve your juice now..."

"I don't like juice," She stated.

"But you said you drink it every night." He stated, confused again.

"That isn't possible," She said, "The convenience store is closed on Sunday nights, which is tonight. I don't like juice on Sunday."

"Well...that is...that is nice to know." Vincent said, "If that is all you need from me then I will be going now…"

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Inside my house..." He stated.

"I have a phone," the pink haired girl said, "Can I come inside?"

"I...I don't think that would be a good idea." Vincent said.

She stared up at him with innocent pink eyes. "Do you have a lady in there?"

"...No?" He said, looking down at her with a weird expression.

"Then what's the problem?" She asked.

"I don't know you well enough." The man stated, leaving it at that.

"I'm Corona Dragon," She said, "Who the banana-throwing-minute are you?"

He looked at her strangely and cleared his throat, "I am Vincent Valentine."

She kept her smile and said, "I have no shoes on."

He nodded, "Good to know, now if you will excuse me..." He began slowly closing the door.

"You wanna come with me to get juice?" She asked.

"No, thank you." And with that he shut his door and let out a sigh. "_That was interesting," _He thought.

She stood outside his door for a moment before yelling, "Yeah, that's cool! I've got plans too!"

He shook his head holding back an amused smile and went further into the safety of his house to read.

**She_Prays_One_Day_Someone_Will_See_Here**

A girl of nineteen walked into the ShinRa building to find her uncle who had promised her a job. She had dull, dark bluish-green eyes that stared nervously around the room and an almost bob-like haircut that was so dramatically cut her chestnut colored hair that the front part of it reached the top part of her chest, while the back was long enough to cover her neck some. She sighed, crossing her arms over her small frame and b-sized chest looking timidly around for the one person she knew there.

Instead of seeing her uncle though, she saw a red headed man. He had his red hair in a pony tail that looked just as lazy as he did. He had his hands in his pockets and didn't bother tucking in his white shirt or even tightening his black tie. He noticed her staring and walked across the room towards her to strike up some conversation. "Yo."

She said something in a different language when she looked up him, then her eyes widened when she realized what she had done. She blushed and said quickly, "Sorry! I meant, hi..." She now felt awkward and wanted her uncle to show up and save her from talking to people who probably think she is stupid by now.

The red headed man smirked and leaned over her, placing his hand on the wall. "You're kind of cute up close, yo. Did you just get a job here?"

She was now looking at the ground, still blushing. She began formulating an answer not in Wutianese in her mind before she spoke, "Y-yeah-kinda, I mean I gotta find my uncle first..." She added a small nervous laugh when her voice trailed off.

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere, yo," The man said and pretended to look around before laying his green-blue eyes back on the girl.

"...His name is Tseng." She said with a heavy accent when she spoke his name, "Do you know him?" She asked looking up at him for a split second with innocent, harmless eyes that contrasted her uncle's.

"Yeah, I know him, yo," He said, leaving it at that, "Say, kid, what's your name?"

"Raiden, what about you?" She replied accent still thick when she said her own name and then it instantly disappeared when the sentence continued. Raiden began wondering why he was talking to her anyway. It was odd in itself for her to have this happen.

"I'm Reno, yo," The red head said.

"You're also still on the job," A man, Raiden's uncle, Tseng, said as he came up being the red headed man, "Get back to work." This man stern looking man had long, black hair that was sleeked back, exposing the talik on the middle of his forehead.

"Hallo, uncle." Raiden said as she looked over at him giving him a slight smile, "I was looking for ya."

"Hello," Tseng said as Reno slid away before he got punched.

Raiden gave the man a quick hug and then looked up at him and asked, "So what do I hafta do now? Paperwork or something?"

"Just stick with me for today," Tseng said, "I'll show you around and then you can actually start tomorrow."

She nodded and gave him a thumbs up, "Mkay, I hate doin' work anyway."

The dark haired man nodded and then began bestowing his knowledge on his beautiful, young niece.


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing!**

It seemed like after that visit Corona never took walks at night again, so Vincent would sit and wait for nothing. Without her walking around at night, well, he had nothing to do for at least one hour. What could he do now, anyways? Read a book? He had hundreds of them, after all. Even though they only talked once, he felt worried about the girl. What if something had happened to her? Or what if she moved? And if she did, why did he feel somewhat upset over it? He barely even knew her; he just hated change. He missed watching her walk, but now that would clearly never happen again. He began thinking that he must have scared her off. He does have that effect on people.

She didn't seem to mind him at all though. He, however, was beginning to become bored. None of his friends had time to visit him anymore after the group disbanded awhile ago. He sighed and went to walk out his door. She liked juice, right? And she had over paid him. He'll simply buy her juice, so she didn't think ill of him. He followed her "that way" direction and bought her some orange juice, since he had no idea what to get her. He just hoped this is what she wanted.

This was the first time he had actually gone onto her yard, which had a wall built around it. It was like a massive garden with plants growing every which way. Vines climbed up the walls, flowers bloom in the spring night, and berries grew on bushes. The bushes were in the shape of different animals, most of them were dolphins though. He stepped up the two concrete steps and knocked on the wood door that had been painted on by the girl. She had put flowers on the bottom and as it went up they became part of the sky with aliens at the very top, resting on the nebulas.

Corona answered the door with purple hair this time, but still her pink contacts. She was wearing a dress that had ducks on it that swum around the bottom, but still she wore no shoes. "Hiya, I'm Corona," She said with a smile.

"...and I'm Vincent." He said, he then held out the juice, "Here, sorry if I scared you off..."

She blinked at him twice, smiled, and took the juice. "This is juice. I like juice. You're not scary."

He nodded, "It's not a Sunday."

She nodded happily and stepped aside. "You should come inside, Vincent."

"Alright...thank you." He said politely before stepping inside.

The inside of her house smelt like vanilla and berries which was probably because of all the candles that were lit. On her walls were snippets from the newspaper or from off juice boxes, but in the middle of it all was a poster of a man with black hair, blue eyes, and a guitar. On her floor were books and sheet music. Her table had a huge book on it that had a picture of a man and an alien-looking woman on it, who had purple hair like Corona. Her couch had a blanket and pillow on it, no doubt she slept there.

"Follow me, Vincent," She said, not realizing how strange her house may look to a normal person.

He nodded and continued following the woman into this strange place called a house.

She led him to a room in the back of the house where everything seemed halfway normal. The walls were green, the couch was black, the coffee table was somewhat new, and this was the only room she actually turned the lights on in. "You can sit on the couch or the floor, if you like, but don't sit on the table."

"Umm, thanks." He said before sitting down on the couch.

She sat next to him with a smile and placed her hands in her lap, almost looking normal for a moment. "My birthday is today. Thank you for the present."

"You're welcome." He said, feeling he had been lucky.

"I'm sixty-one today," She said with a happy smile.

He was somewhat confused, but knew he wasn't one to judge he was around that age too, "Happy Birthday." He commented.

"Thank you," She said, "Sixty-one is kind of like sixteen, if it looks in a mirror, I think."

"Of course," Vincent said.

The girl held her smile, but stayed on guard now that she thought about what Vincent could do to her. "I have a boyfriend, y'know."

"...Um, congratulations," He said, confused.

Corona looked away from the man and said, "What's your favorite vegetable?"

"Oh, um, I would have to say celery..." Vincent replied.

"In the _Odyssey_, the meadows that surround Calypso's cave were full of violets and wild celery," She said with a smile, feeling like this could be the perfect conversation.

"Have you read that book, too?" He asked surprised people other than him do that in this day and age.

"It's one of my favorite books," She said with a smile, "But I think my complete collection of Edgar Allan Poe's poems is my favorite book I own."

He nodded approving of that, "Poe is my favorite poet."

_"Annabel Lee_ is my favorite by him," She said with a smile, "What about you?"

"I would have to say _The Raven,_ but _Annabel Lee_ would be my second choice." He said, rather liking having someone to discuss books with.

Corona smiled, "You are smart."

"Oh." Vincent said taken back by the comment. He kept his composure and said gratefully, "Thank you..."

"You're welcome," She said, "Are you still a virgin?"

"...I am not answering that." He stated.

"Awww, be a good sport, Vincent," Corona said with a smile and nudged him with her elbow.

He sighed and said, like a defiant child, "I'd rather not answer things of personal matters."

"Oh, you're one of _those_ guys," She said, crossing her arms.

"…Sorry," He mumbled, feeling bad, "I just don't think that's something one should ask upon knowing someone for that short amount of time."

"But what if I die tomorrow," She said, "What does that say about today?"

"I...I don't know." He said dumbfounded.

"Exactly," She said and looked outside, "The sun is rising; you can sleep here for the day." She stands up and shuts the curtains tight, so no light entered.

"I'll just head home." Vincent said, standing up, "Maybe another day."

"N-No! You'll get hurt!" She said, anxiously going over to him, and pushing him back on the couch.

"I assure you I will not." Vincent stated, confused like he had been the many times before.

"I'll give you my bed," She said in a pleading tone, "But don't go outside. The sun is coming up; you're gonna get hurt!"

"I promise I will be fine." He said standing up again, "I am not a vampire."

"That doesn't matter," She said and grabbed on to his arm, "The sun doesn't care if you're a vampire or not; it'll hurt you if you go out in it. You can't take stupid risks like that, Vincent. I've never stepped foot outside when the sun was up in all my years of living! You need to be safe like me!"

"It is fine," He said, swiftly getting his arm away from her, "I've been out in it before..."

Corona almost looked like she was ready to cry from being worried for him. "Vincent, it's too dangerous to go outside..."

"I'll be fine." He said, sighing slightly, "I promise you I will be fine."

"If you stay I'll let you sleep in my bed and you can sleep with Quebec, also," Corona said.

"No thank you, I will just go back to my house." He stated.

"But you can't!" She exclaimed in a pleading voice.

Vincent was confused, "I believe I can, miss." He sighed and said, "I'll see myself out, if you don't mind..." He paused feeling like he sounded too harsh, "Look, I will visit you tomorrow to prove I am alive, is that alright?"

"The nights have seemed to be becoming brighter," Corona said, "Before you know it, it'll always be day and we won't ever get to talk again. I got me a phone, you know."

Vincent nodded, "Then would you prefer I called to prove that my life has not escaped me?"

"I want to see you though," Corona said, "The sun is gonna destroy everything it sees if you go out now. Please, sleep here. My bed keeps all the light out and is soft. I can put on a CD if you want to hear music."

"Honestly, I will be fine...See you tomorrow" He said, politely. Vincent began walking to where he thought the front door was. The poor girl followed him, but when he began opening the door she ran behind the couch, so no sunlight would touch her pale skin.

Vincent cleared his throat, "..It's, umm, been nice talking to you." He then drew his attention to the door, walked out of it, and shut it softly behind him.

The garden was almost unreal when he could see all the little details she had put into it. There were flowers lining the walk way and plenty of bird houses. The whole yard was booming with the sounds of animals just waking up or going to sleep. The morning dew made the leaves and grass sparkle. From the trees hung strings with glass bottles or doorknobs on them. On the bark of the trees were strips from her panting and on the wall she had painted so many different types of people. When they were all put together it looks like a town with plenty of people coming and going in this unreal world she had created. 

Every tree also had its own swing and by the one closet to her home there was doll house that was still open with a porcelain doll waiting to be noticed. It was almost hard to believe she had done this all at night when it was so dark and she'd never know what it would look like during the day.

He wondered how could someone spend sixty-one years without once stepping foot outside during the day? Did she not wonder what her garden looked like? And why did she paint all over everything? The people all seemed to be happy on their wall except for one person, who was stuck in the background by themselves. 

It made one wonder how could she be social and then not seem to have any friends at all? She had a boyfriend, but lord knows what he was like. For all Vincent knew, he could be made up since she needed someone to be with. 

**Can_You_Hear_Me_Calling_For_You_?**

Raiden walked through the hallways of the ShinRa on one of the higher floors. She seemed confident in the task she was given for now. Just making a few copies of a document couldn't be too hard, right? Her eyes scanned the rooms she was passing as she tried to remember where the copy machine was. Her uncle had told her, but, Gaia, that man was using so many big words in such a short amount of time she zoned him out.

After she went in three different rooms, she found the printer on her last try. Reno was waiting next to it, watching as copies were spat out. Raiden walked over to wait her turn in a timid manner as she looked down at the paper she was given to copy.

"Yo, Raiden, do you want me copy those for you after my stuff finishes?" Reno asked.

The girl nodded, feeling like she would screw it up if she made the copies, "If ya don't mind."

"If I minded I wouldn't have offered, yo," Reno said with a smirk.

"Oh..." She said with nervous laugh, "Well, thank you." She gave him a quick smile before thinking about the number of copies she had to make. Was it twenty or ten...or two?

"How you likin' it here so far, yo?" Reno asked. 

"Besides getting lost easily here, I guess it's alright." She paused hearing that she got a text, and it was from her uncle. She opened her phone and read the short text of only two numbers, two and one in that order. She sighed, but kept her smile as she stared down at the screen and shut it mumbling "Pssh, doesn't trust me at all." Of course, she was talking out loud forgetting she was around people right now.

Reno smirked, knowing all too well what she was doing. "I know what you mean, yo, I have the same problem."

She had forgotten she was even in a conversation, "Hmm? Oh...!" what was she even talking about? "Getting lost?" 

Reno chuckled as he set his papers on the counter next to him. "Nevermind, yo. How many copies did you need?"

"Ten." Raiden replied, handing him the few papers she was carrying, "Wait! I lied it's twenty..."

"Are you sure, yo?" Reno asked with a smirk as he set the paper in the copier and waited until the amount was confirmed.

The girl got a somewhat panicked look on her face, "No...but twenty sounds like a good number so I'm going with it."

The red head kept his smirk and put the number in the machine. "I hope you're right, yo."

"Y'know... I hope so too." She agreed, watching the number being punched in, "If it's ten then I'll say I was going for double or nothing..."

Reno chuckled at the girl and shook his head. "Say, do you got a boyfriend, yo?"

Raiden shook her head and with a nervous laugh she said, "Nope."

"A pretty young thing like you is still single, eh?" Reno said as he leaned his weight against the wall. "Well, give me a call sometime, yo, and I'll try my best to show you a good time." 

Raiden blushed and looked away quickly with same laugh as she said, "…o-okay maybe." Not being use to this attention at all, she looked down to find that her copies were done. She grabbed the papers deciding she liked the warmness of them in her hand and said, "Thanks again for helping me."

"No problem, yo. I'll see you around," Reno said, before leaving with a happy whistle.

Raiden walked at a slower pace out of the room trying to stay focused. Remembering now what she had to do her eyes widened and she then began rushing down the hallways saying to herself, "Uncle is gonna punch me for taking so long!"


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing! Please, review!**

Vincent had bought another bottle of juice for the girl before he headed towards her home. She was painting on the walls with a man who stood over her. He had blonde, long hair that went to his shoulders and curved in at the end. He dressed in dark-wash jeans, a band t-shirt, and had a variety of arm bands.

Corona was wearing a sun-hat that had a shark on the top of it, a blue dress with bubbles on it, and still no shoes. She was painting near the bottom of the wall, wanting to make new people and was almost done before the man snapped and started yelling at her.

"Will you stop painting all the time? Everything is covered, you idiot," He shouted at her as he picked up a bucket of black paint and threw it on all her people. "You suck a painting, so just stop it!" He said when she reached out in attempt to save her people.

Vincent walked up awkwardly not knowing what to do or say.

The man shot a glare at the girl before clenching his fists and just walking away.

"Hiya, Vincent," Corona said with a smile as she looked up at his, "How'd you make it like you did?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?" He asked.

"You're alive," She said with a smile.

"Oh yes, well as you can see I managed somehow." Vincent said, "Did you paint all this? It's very good."

"Thank you," Corona said and put her hand in the black paint, "I'll restart right here. I just need to let this dry a bit... Or..." She smiled and threw red paints over the black and began rubbing them together, careful not to mix them completely. Vincent stood there and observed her, but then remembered the juice in his plastic supermarket bag he was carrying.

"I brought you some more juice." He stated.

"Really?" Corona's face brightened up. "I love juice. My favorite is orange, then grape, but I hate apple."

"Well...I bought all three of those and pomegranate since I didn't know what you preferred..." He said, holding out the bag to her.

Corona took it with paint covered hands and sat it in her lap. "I've never had pomegranate."

"I think it's alright." Vincent said.

She opened the pomegranate juice first and as she drank it she leaned further back until she was lying on her back sucking on the bottle with her feet on the wall.

He chuckled, "I take it that you find it tolerable enough."

When she finished it she was smiling and set the bottle next to her. "That was really good. I like this better than orange juice."

"I'll remember that." Vincent said.

She nodded in approval and let her hat fall to the ground as she sat back up. "How'd you make it out alive when the sun was up?"

"The sun didn't hurt me; I simply walked with it shining on me." He explained.

"But how?" She asked, not understanding the sun didn't usually hurt people, unless they stayed out in it too long.

"Just don't worry too much about it." He said.  
>Corona looked down at her paint covered hands and nodded.<p>

The man took in the scenery with a serious expression still on his face. All the plants were watered and she had put some new flowers on the ground. Her doll had moved from the house onto one of the swings, but because of the breeze the doll fell off. It all seemed unusual but this yard was beginning to become more normal the more he visited it.

Corona went back to her painting, not caring one bit that it was getting on her clothes or face. She was just happy being alive. The girl started humming to herself with a dreamy smile as she took some blue and put in cursive _"A lady doesn't need to fear with you here"_ over the picture she finished.

Vincent carefully watched her paint and sighed contently- what's this Vincent Valentine letting out a content sigh? Yes, it seemed he was happy to be here, happy to be somewhere for once in his life. Happy to have company again that wasn't a depressed blonde, nagging woman, or a hyper ninja, who needed a punch or two in the face sometimes.

Corona smiled and pointed at her picture. "Look, it's you! Can you tell?" she had somehow turned the black mess into a picture of him with just some red paint. It was somewhat messy, but he could easily tell it was him.

"It is." He stated, "That looks nice" Vincent gave an approving nod at it.

She smiled at it and placed her hands on her feet, causing for more paint to cover her body. "I'll fix it more when I get some more paint. I'll order it tomorrow, since no art stores are open at night for some reason."

"Stores normally open during the day. I can take you to a paint shop nearby when it opens in the morning." He suggested.

"But it's scary during the day and the sun will kill me," She said with wide eyes.

"No, it won't, I promise." He said with a reassuring voice.  
>"I've never been out during the day before..." She said timidly. "You'll protect me, right?"<p>

"Of course." Vincent said.

"I'm trusting you, Vincent," She said, looking scared already, but also excited.  
>"I won't let you down." Vincent replied.<p>

"Do people out there dress like they do on the television" She asked.

"How do they dress on the television?" Vincent asked, hesitant to say yes.

"With those really small shirts," Corona said with an innocent smile, "And sometimes they have baggy pants that look like they can't stay up or really small skirts. Sometimes they were really pretty dresses that go with the big hoop skirts."

"Well...you'll see tomorrow..." Vincent said.

"What should I wear?" She asked, looking at this man for guidance.

"Anything you want." Vincent stated. He wore a cape, who was he to judge.

Corona smiled and grabbed her sunhat with the shark glued on top. "Is this good?"

"If that's what you want to wear..." Vincent said.

"Do people in the sunlight like sharks?" She asked.

"Depends on the person," Vincent stated.

"I don't know what to wear..." She said, looking at her hat, and not quite feeling right about wearing it.

"You'll know when the time comes." Vincent said.

Corona kept her eyes set on her hat and softly said, "Maybe this is a bad idea. The sun might not like me..."

"No, it will be fine. I'll be with you, remember?" Vincent said.

The purple haired girl slowly nodded and said, "I just don't want to stand out.."

"...Well standing out is not a bad thing." He said, "I tend to stand out in a crowd due to me height and clothes..."

Corona stood up and held out her hand to the man, so she could help him up. "Come help me choose something pretty to wear."

"..Well...sure." He agreed, taking her hand to stand up.

She led him into the house, that hadn't changed much since yesterday except there were a few new sheets of paper with cursive hand writing on it. Corona led him to her bedroom that was big, since it was the master bedroom, after all. Along the walls were paintings, some of which were covered by the pile of CDs that stacked at an even twenty in each stack. She had a big canopy bed with black curtains that were shut tight, so no sunlight would touch her bed while she slept. On the nightstands on each side of her bed were lamps and a pile of books that she meant to read. Everything was somewhat darker in here, unlike in the rest of her house, but she made sure to keep it decorated. There was a book opened on the ground that was meant to teach her how to draw dragons from different angles. There was a white dresser with butterflies and dinosaurs painted on it. Resting on top of the dresser were some dolls, a green and blue jacket, and a candy jar.

Corona walked right past all this-after she turned on the lights- to her closet, which was decorated with neon stars that glowed in the dark and little native people reaching up at them. She opened the closet, showing a variety of different articles of clothing. She didn't have a special order to them, but still with so many choices it would have been more overwhelming to have them in some order.

Vincent nodded and got to work to try to find something presentable. Nothing too flashy or too plain, too baggy or too tight, he needed to find something that was just right. Corona watched as he went through her clothes, trying to think of what to say, but when she had a thought she lost it.

He managed to dig out a cute looking pale pink sundress that would end up laying a little above her knees. It had a thin layer of black lace over the solid pink color of the dress and a small black ribbon under the bust to show that yes, this woman had boobs. The rest of the dress would flow in a pleasing airy way. He pulled out some black, sandals that had a little of a heel and a sunhat that had a ribbon that was the same lace pattern on the dress.

Corona didn't exactly care and took the clothes with a happy smile. "Go on outside my room and I'll get dressed."

"Alright." Vincent said as he walked out of the room and carefully shut the door behind him. He hoped he chose the right thing.

The girl took her time getting dressed and when she was done she opened her door, she shyly said, "I forgot how to put shoes on with these straps. Can you help me, please?" She gave him an apologetic smile, but honestly she couldn't remember to save her life. It had been quite a long time since she had worn any shoes at all to be honest.

"Sure." Vincent said, "Get the shoes and I'll help you put them on in the living room."

She nodded and grabbed her shoes and purse before going to the living room with her new friend. Vincent motioned for her to have a seat somewhere, so she chose the spot closet to the door and sat down, handing him one of the sandals. "The sun is comin' up."

"We better hurry then." He said as he knelt down in front of and began to slip the sandals on her feet.

"How do you do them straps up like that?" She asked as he buckled the straps up to the perfect tightness.

He shrugged, "Practice, I guess."

"I didn't take you for the type to wear sandals," Corona said with an innocent smile.

"Full of surprises, aren't I?" Vincent said, chuckling slightly.

"Ya' sure are," She said with a smile as she stood up, careful of his hands, "In fact, since the moment I saw you, you haven't done nothing, but surprise me. You're a swell guy, Vincent."

"...Thanks." Vincent said, feeling himself smile slightly. He had never smiled all that much and found it odd he was attempting to.

"You're welcome," She said and slowly opened the door, but went behind it, careful of the sunlight. "You first..."

He nodded and walked out in the sunlight. Vincent turned around, and motioned for her to walk out the door near where he was standing.

She looked down at the sleepy light seeping into her house and then gave him an apologetic smile. "I think I can stay right here and be alright. I can see the sun, so there's nothing more to it..."

Vincent sighed and held out his hand, "Come on, you've gotten this far...Don't give up."

He may as well have told her to run through a pool of snakes, because the way she dashed from the door to under the shade of a tree was almost in the blink of an eye. Corona was holding on tight to the tree, feeling herself become panicked, but also extremely excited from the change in pace for once.

Vincent chuckled, "Alright let's try walking in the sunlight this time."

"I-I did, didn't ya' see, Vincent?" She said, mostly trying to convince herself of that.

"I saw, but come on let's try walking out here." He said, holding out his hand for her to take.

She dug her nails into the tree, but it was like they retracted back when she let go to take Vincent's hand. "I'm not scared, y'know...!"

"I know, but it is fine, I'm here." Vincent said with a reassuring smile.

She nodded slowly and let him lead her out into the sunlight. Corona couldn't have had more perfect skin. It was pale and soft looking, the stuff higher class women could only dream of having. Her face was provided shade from the sunhat, but he could still see her soft, gentle pink lips and long black eyelashes that fluttered when she began adjusting herself to the light.

"You look nice," Vincent stated, "In the sunlight, that is."

"Do I not look nice in the moonlight?" Corona asked, keeping close to Vincent as he led her out her yard.

"You look nice in all lights..." Vincent said after he thought about it for a moment. "So, did you want to go to the paint store?"

"Oh, yes, please," Corona said with a big smile, "I've never been in an actual art store. Is it nice?"

"I don't know...I don't go to them, but I am sure you will like shopping in one." Vincent stated leading her in the direction of the nearest art shop.

Corona nodded, looking at the new faces of people as they made their way to work in the morning. "Where are all these people going?"

"I'm going to guess, judging by the time, they are going to work." Vincent stated, looking down at his watch.

"I work whenever I want," Corona said, "So, why do they have times to work?"

"Well, they have a job that starts at a certain time every morning and ends at a certain time in the evening." Vincent stated, "They usually go to these jobs five days out of the week."

"Do they ever have time to play?" She asked, looking up at Vincent with curious, trusting eyes.

"On their time off they do." Vincent said as he skillfully maneuvered through the crowd.

"Why don't they work when they want to? I get to work whenever I want," She said, not understanding the circumstances.

"...Well, because most jobs don't let you work when you want." Vincent said as they approached the art store.

"That's not very nice," Corona said, looking over her shoulder at a man who was on a morning jog. "Why is he in a hurry to go to work? Is he late?"

"No he is just exercising." Vincent said as he let go of her hand to hold open the door for her.

She walked into the store, but waited for Vincent to stand next to her, so she could hold his hand again. "This place is cool..."

"Take a look around." He said.

She timidly stepped forward, looking like she was expecting to see a monster or something, but she adjusted well enough. She picked up a decorative blue butterfly that was meant to go on a bouquet, but instead she took off her hat and put it in her hair. "Does this look alright?"

He chuckled, "I guess."

"I'm gonna get it," She said with a determined smile and took it out her hair, so she could put her hat back on, "You want one?"

He shook his head, "No, thank you."

"If you say so, but if you ever change your mind you just tell me," Corona said, already looking at new items on the shelves.

"Alright, I will." Vincent said, feeling himself smile again. Why did he always smile when he's around her?

She looked at some stickers of what was supposed to be aliens. "Aliens don't look like that. They look kind of like us, except they speak dolphin. Unless they're mad and then they look different."

Vincent nodded, just deciding to agree. Corona seemed like she could go on a rant on the topic if it weren't for a shark toy that caught her eye. "Look, it's just like the one on my hat!"

"Hmm...I guess it is." Vincent said as he looked at the shark toy.

"Oooh, what's that!" She ran across the store, dragging the man behind her, and came to a stop in front of a model plane kit. "That looks really hard to do!"

"I suppose if you took your time with it would be easy." Vincent said after he observed it for a few moments.

"Do you like airplanes?" Corona asked, blinking twice, and giving him a sweet smile like on the day they first met.

Vincent thought for a second, "They are alright..."

"What do you like?" She asked.

"Books...nature, things of that sort." Vincent replied.

"Really? I write books for a living," Corona said happily.

"I might have to read one of your books sometime." He stated, happy to meet a real life author.

"That's okay with me, I have some copies at my house if ya' wanna borrow them," She said as she roamed around the store, still needing to find her paint.

"I would like that very much." The man said, sounding particularly happy.

"Y'know, the sunlight isn't that bad," Corona said, "I wish I would have gone out earlier."

"Well, I can take you out in the sunlight more often if you like." Vincent offered.

Her face lit up with a big smile. "I'd love, love, love that!"

Vincent smiled lightly back at her, "Then I'll take you out whenever you want."

"Whoa! Is that Vincent Valentine with a girl that isn't me?" A girl with short dark brown hair, who reached the height of 5'2" exclaimed as she ran up behind the two, nearly scaring Corona out her skin.

He sighed, "Yuffie...go away..."

Corona held tight to Vincent's hand, feeling scared out of her wits, and her nails extended as if she was ready to fight if she had to.

"What's her name? Is she your girlfriend?" The young girl asked.

"This is Corona, she is my friend. Now go away Yuffie." Vincent said in a not too pleased voice.

"Pushy! Pushy!" Yuffie said, putting up her hands. "I mean no harm, so keep your pants on." The shorter girl inspected the other female and lifted up her purple hair. "This is totally fake, isn't it?"

"I-I color my hair-Vincent, make her stop touching me!" Corona practically cried as she ran behind the man. "She's gonna hurt me!"

"Yuffie, stop it." He said, firmly.

"I hardly even touched her! She's just a cry baby!" Yuffie said in protest.

"C'mon, Corona, let's go." Vincent said, pulling the girl along with him as he made an attempt to get away from the female ninja.

Corona couldn't hold onto Vincent any tighter, because such loud, sudden noises scared her, and all Yuffie was, was a loud, sudden noise. Even as she came up behind the two, asking repeatedly what they were doing there, Corona could only mumble her words.

Vincent just kept ignoring the small childlike girl and walked back into the crowd of people hoping she would go away.

"Y'know, you're really rude, Vincent," Yuffie nagged, "And you girl, you need to stop mumbling. It isn't polite!"

"Neither is butting in where you're not wanted," Corona snapped, finally feeling her temper being test out, and, Gaia, Vincent could see that all too familiar look in her eyes, as if something else was about to take over. Vincent sighed and mumbled a sorry to Corona as they walked on.

Corona let out a shaky sigh after Yuffie said what she wanted to and then left in a rage.

"I'm sorry about that." Vincent apologized.

The girl shook her head as she paid for her items, whispering the number she was buying, but stopped long enough to say, "It's okay, Vincent. It isn't your fault she was born stupid."

He chuckled at that and then sighed, "I'll take you home after this. Maybe tomorrow will be better."

"Is that how it works?" She asked as she paid for her items. "You just wait for a better day, when the sun is out?"

"...I guess." He said, unsure.

"How can you live like that?" She asked as she took the bag from the cashier.

"I don't know...I manage." Vincent said.

"I think I'd rather try to make my day better by myself, than wait on the sun to decide for me," Corona said as she took his hand and led him back outside.

"Good point" Vincent commented.

She yawned, not use to being out and about at this time. "What's that?" She asked, pointing at a kite a little kid was flying.

"That's a kite." Vincent stated, "It's a toy."

"How do you play with it?" Corona asked. "Are you supposed to cut that string? I've never seen anything on the television with a kite before..."

"You fly it around, the wind helps move it." He explained.

"And if there is no wind?" She asked.

"It doesn't fly." He responded.

"Is it fun?" She asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know, the kids seem to enjoy it."

She nodded slowly. "I see..."

Vincent yawned slightly as they continued walking down the sunny street.

"We should do this again sometime," She yawned, feeling herself become drowsy, "And maybe I can make us a kite."

"Of course, any time you want." Vincent said, feeling his eyes get heavy. He blinked them rapidly trying to wake himself up more.

"Look, there's your house," Corona said as she pointed at his home in the distance.

He nodded, fighting back yawns, "That it is…"

"I'll walk you there," She said, taking him in that direction.

"Thanks." Vincent mumbled, sleepily.

"No problem," She said as she took him up the steps of his house.

"Well, I'll see you soon." Vincent said, and then yawned softly before opening the door to his house.

"Yeah, I'll see ya' around…" She said with a soft smile as she placed her pale hand on the railing, so she wouldn't lose her balance as she slowly went down the steps and to her house.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing!**

The girl known as Raiden sighed softly to herself, wanting the day to just be over for once. She was walking down the hallways once again, flinching at every sound of footsteps she heard and quickly trying to get away from them. She feared that it would either some crazy woman after Tseng's babies, wanting information about what "Tsengie Wongie" likes, or some jerk wanting to tell her how much they don't want her there because of her mixed blood. She didn't like either option so far and needed to find some place to get away from people like that.

She planned to yell at her uncle later of making the ladies attracted to him, but as for the rude comment and hatred for her mixed race, well she would live it like she always had.

The hallways were empty-ish, because most people were either in their offices or leaving. Reno was one of the people who were leaving with a suitcase in hand, but couldn't help himself from talking to her. "Yo."

"Hey." Raiden said, looking slightly relieved it wasn't one of the two kinds of people mentioned earlier. She had been dealing with them all day after all. She pointed to his suitcase. "Ya heading home?"

"I was planning on it, yo," He said with a smirk, "Just thought I'd clock out early today."

She nodded and sighed, "I wish I could do that."

"Do you need Tseng to walk you home or something, yo?" Reno asked, still holding his smirk.

"...Maybe..." She said reluctantly. Tseng didn't trust her going home by herself when it starts to get dark.

The red headed man ruffled her hair in a teasing manner. "You'll get use to walking home alone, yo."

Raiden made a slightly annoyed groan as she started to fix her messed up hair. "You're making it look worse." She complained.

"You worry too much, yo," Reno said with a chuckle, "I think it looks fine either way."

"That's a lie either way." She said with a half smile that quickly dropped when she heard the clicking of female heels. "...sweet gaia not-"

"Oh, hi!" A woman said as she approached the girl.

"...Yes?" Raiden responded with a non-too-pleased voice.

"So I heard-"

"That I am Tseng's niece and you want to ask me what he likes and whatnot." Raiden stated, knowing exactly what she was asking. The woman nodded and smiled brightly. Raiden kept the most serious face she could manage and said, "He likes juggling and that's all I can tell you."

"J-juggling?" The woman asked; eyes wide with confusion.

Raiden nodded with a smile that looked like it was hiding laughter.

The woman nodded again and said, "Umm...alright...thank you?" With that she walked away with the image of Tseng actually liking that. He was such a serious man the woman's mind was confused ten times over.

She sighed when the woman was gone and mumbled, "... Hundredth time today.."

"When I tried to teach Tseng how to juggle he was just terrible at it, yo," Reno said, scratching his head in confusion.

Raiden's eyes lit up slightly when amusement before she turned her head with both hands on her mouth trying to suppress laughter. She had pictured it and oh, gaia her uncle doing something like that was just so weird.

Reno tapped his lips with his index finger as if he were in deep thought and then said, "Do you need me to walk you home, yo?"

Her laughter slowed enough to where she was uncover her mouth. The girl thought for a moment wondering if it was a good idea. She trusted him so far and she just wanted to go home. Plus even though her uncle told her to not walk home alone there was a very good reason for it. "I..." She started off and then remembered some of the people she had met today, "…Yeah."

"Cool," Reno said, feeling happy, yet nervous she had agreed. He wanted to play it cool, since he didn't know this girl very well he didn't want to say that a simple smile that came from her lips could make him hop up and take a command. "Lead the way, yo."

Raiden nodded suddenly feeling worried about certain types of people she might run into. She started walking and said, "It isn't too far away from here."

"I don't think I've ever been to Tseng's house, yo," Reno stated.

She shrugged and smiled slightly, "It's...something, but it's...umm, Tseng-ish." She really didn't know how to explain it.

"Maybe I can see more of it, yo," Reno said with a nudge.

"Tseng would kill me." She stated with a smile.

"Well, maybe one day I'll be worth it, yo," He said with a wink.

"Pshh, whatever." She said still smiling as she shook her head.

"You know you love me already, yo," The man said with a smirk this time.

Raiden tilted her head in a mix confusion and amusement, "Don't get too cocky there."

Reno kept his smirk as he shook his head in a loving way. "Do you need me to walk you back home tomorrow, yo?"

"Hmm..Maybe." The girl replied.

"I hope so, yo," He said with a soft smile.

She looked up at him with another confused look. This distracted her from looking where she was going and she ended up running into someone.

"Watch where you're going!" A man said.

The girl mumbled something back in Wutain and then flushed with more embarrassed, "I mean sorry, sir." She said as the man studied her and then his face wrinkled with disgust. He pushed her aside roughly and then walked past her saying, "Damn halfie." The girl rubbed her arm where he had pushed her and kept walking acting like nothing happened while she looked around, being careful not to bump into anyone again.

"Hey, watch your mouth, yo," Reno snapped and wrapped his arm protectively around the girl, "You're no better than anyone else."

"At least, I ain't a mutt." He stated. Raiden looked at her feet wishing they could have just kept walking.

"She's isn't a mutt and you don't have any manners," Reno said and slipped away from the girl to knock the man to the ground by a punch in the face, "Say you're sorry, yo."

He held his jaw before getting up in anger. "Why should I?" He challenged, "People like her should have been killed at birth!" He was already holding up his fist to punch Reno back while the girl looked around timidly hoping they weren't making a scene.

"No, people like you should have been killed at birth," Reno said, ready to use that ShinRa training, "Or at least, you should have been taught better, yo!"

He snorted, "Whatever I don't have to put up with this shit." The man seemed to be smart enough to know he didn't stand a chance since he mumbled another insult to the poor girl before slinking off trying to act like he wasn't scared of his face being broken in ten thousand different places.

Reno held back an angry sigh as he began following the girl once more. "You don't have to put up with that, yo."

Raiden shook her head as she said, "It's fine, I am a mutt, it is what it is." She looked over at him with a smile and eyes full of admiration for the man, "but thank ya'. Not many people do that for me...I just wished he put up more of a fight, so he would get punched more."

Reno smirked and ruffled her hair again. "You keep your chin up, yo."

She laughed as she fixed her hair then asked with a more serious face, "Does your hand hurt from punching him?"

"Nah," Reno said with a nonchalant smile, "It takes a lot to hurt my fists."

"Pssh, lucky." The girl stated in an almost jealous tone.

"You just gotta be strong, yo," He said with a smirk.

"Look at this!" Raiden said, pointing to herself, "Does it look like I can accomplish that?"

"Yessum." Reno smiled down at her as they continued their walk.

She shook her head again, smiling back. Raiden stopped in front of a house almost immediately after that, "Mkay, we made it."

The red head rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah, it looks like it..."

Raiden had a confused look about her face, but then tilted her head lightly to ask, "Ya wanna walk me home again tomorrow?"

"I'd love to, yo," He said with a light smile and leaned down, lightly kissing her soft cheek.

The girl blushed and looked away quickly, "U-um, t-thanks again. Bye!" Raiden then turned around, too embarrassed to look back, and headed for the door to the house. She heard him call one last good bye before he was gone, not regretting what he had just done. 

**_Yup_This_Is_Real_**

Vincent woke up, finding that he had sleet past daylight into the darkness of the night. He yawned softly as he stood up brushing some of the long black hair that had fallen onto his pale skin. Normally one would just go back to sleep, but the man continued getting ready, so he could visit his new lady friend.

After a quick shower and trip to the store to buy Corona's new favorite juice, he went to her yard. The boy was back pulling the girl's plants out the ground, while she just went back and replanted them behind him. The wall had been sloppily pressure-washed, so the pictures were ruined, but some parts were still bold in color.

"Hello." Vincent said as he walked over to Corona.

"Hello, Vincent," Corona said as she anxiously working to save her plants as the boy continued to rip them clean out the ground.

Vincent held out the bag with the recently purchased juice in it, "What are you planting?"

"Oh, y'know, flowers and anything else that he decides to rip out," Corona said, rushing over to a flower the boy was crushing under his foot.

"Ohh..." Vincent said, not knowing if he should help her or not. He didn't want her to get in trouble with her boyfriend although he highly disproved of what he was doing.

"How was your sleep?" Corona asked, feeling herself become hot from all the work she was doing at once.

"It was nice. I haven't slept so long in years. "Vincent stated, "What about you? How did you sleep?"

"Well, I..." She sat up with a sigh and set her dirt covered hands in her lap. "I slept fine." She gave him a reassuring smile, even though she was watching all her hard work be destroyed in front of her. The boy saw she had stopped going after him and this raised his anger. He ripped a doorknob off one of the strings and threw it at the girl, busting through the skin near her eye, but all she could do was grab it in pain.

"What was that for?" Vincent hissed, now glaring at the other man.

"She deserved it," The blonde boy snapped while he ripped off another doorknob from the tree, rushed over to her, and yanked her up by the arm. "Stand up!" He shouted at Corona and began slamming the doorknob against her face, which made the girl's mouth become bloody.

Vincent grabbed his wrist with a strong grip. "Stop it." Vincent hissed, "I will send you back into the life stream if you don't leave Corona alone."

"She's my property," He said, dropping the doorknob, "I can do what I want with her."

"She isn't _anyone's_ property." Vincent stated, tightening his grip.

The boy was struggling to escape and let go of Corona's arm, so she could fall to the ground where she hid near the black haired man. Vincent glared at him giving him the look of death himself, "I don't want you coming back here."

The boy nodded, shot a glare at Corona, but didn't try anything when Vincent let go. Instead he ran off to his home, somewhat happy to get away.

Vincent walked over to the girl and gently touched her face, "We need to treat these wounds."

She nodded, hoping he didn't point out the blood that had come out her mouth from where her tooth had gotten knocked out.

He sighed, "C'mon let's get you inside, so I can do something about those wounds."

Corona stood up and spat out her tooth in her hand. "Look..." She said when the blood was gone long enough and held out the bloody tooth.

"We need to get you to a hospital or dentist to see what they can do for that." He said, looking worried. She shook her head and placed her tooth in her pocket, so she could open the door for him.

Vincent got the first aid once he went inside and got out some clean gauze for the girl to hold against her bleeding gums. He then began to treat her face, "You shouldn't let people treat you like that."

She moved the gauze long enough to say, "It's okay. He doesn't mean it. He was just upset, he's really sorry about it."

"I don't think he is." Vincent said with a sigh, "People like him, who can't treat a lady right, disgust me."

"He's not a bad guy," She said and added, "We've been together for five years. I know he loves me," before placing the gauze back on her gums.

Vincent sighed deciding he should say no more on the matter. He continued to clean and patch up her face the best he could.

"Thank you, Vincent," She said, gave him a big hug, and buried her face into his shoulder-ignoring the pain.

"You're welcome." Vincent said as he hugged her softly back, "Now I think I would enjoy reading a few of your books that you promised."

"I-I can do that," She said, feeling herself tear up, but she couldn't help and smile at Vincent. He just made her so happy whenever they were near, so being able to have him read a book that she had written made her swell up with a pride. She picked up three of her best-sellers from a bookshelf in another room, dusted them off with her hand, and came back to the man. "Here, you can keep them if you like them..."

"Thank you." Vincent said as he took the books, holding them like they were fragile and precious to him.

"They're kind of old..." She stated.

Vincent shook his head and smirked, "So am I."

Corona laughed as she said, "C'mon, Vincent, they aren't _that_ old."

Vincent shook his head, "If you say so." He smiled lightly as he opened up one the books he was holding. The pages were smooth as he ran his fingers over it. He had opened it to the dedication page and it one simple sentence she had wrote: _To all the flowers that have been stepped on. _It was simple enough. The man turned another page to begin reading this best seller.

_It's kind of sweet, yet bitter. The way he looks at me, that is. Like I stand a chance, but I don't. The thought is still nice thought, because standing a chance is better than merely having a chance propped up against a table that is already wobbly. _

_Being in this sort of situation isn't exactly ideal. I know that it would be for the best if I walked away and pretended that my heart wasn't longing for him. That would save me a lot of trouble; trouble that I know will tear me apart. He is so sweet to me, but also to one other girl, who he insists on walking from class to class while I stand by and watch (praying that he will notice me and drop her like a rock)._

_How long have I been watching him talk to other girls and give them a chance before me? Three years, I think. Three long, heartfelt years from my side, and one his side: three short years full of prettier girls with more interesting lives to tell about. I should have walked away when I realized it wasn't going anywhere, but I didn't. _

_I stuck around, being there when he needed to talk, and staying silent when his words were stuck in his mouth. That's usually when he would take action..._

Vincent nodded with approval this was a good book thus far. Corona kept leaning over, looking at his eyes, and then the book in attempt to see what word he was on.

"This book is good so far." Vincent commented, noticing her looking.

"I-I promise it'll get worse!" She said nervously, turning her bruised face down.

"No, you're a good writer, it can only get better." The man stated with a flip of another page.

The girl lightly nodded, not wanting to give up the compliment, since it wasn't often she received them. She watched for some time as Vincent read the light novel, where the girl had finally gotten with the guy who had beaten her and never once asked him to stop, since she was much too scared to even say anything about it; especially when he was in one of his "moods."  
>By the time he had gotten to the end- when the girl had died from the brutality her love's anger brought with it, she still never blamed him or anyone else who had turned away until it was too late- Corona was texting her boyfriend and smiled at the apology he had typed out, even if the way he said it, blamed this all on her. She knew what he meant.<p>

Vincent shut the now finished book and nodded again with approval, "I can't wait to read your other books."

"Vincent, look," She said and pointed at her phone with a sore smile, since the bruises were forming on her pale face, "I told you he was sorry."

Vincent just smiled not wanting to say anymore about that matter, he doubted the man gave her a proper apology.

"He can still come over, can't he?" Corona asked with pleading. "He apologized, so we're all good."

"If he behaves himself," Vincent stated, "...but it is your decision since it is your house."

"He won't do it again," She said excitedly, "I think he really means it this time..!"

"Alright," Vincent said, not fully believing her words or even his for that matter.

"Yay! Thank you Vincent!" She said as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before texting her boyfriend back.

Vincent held back a sigh as he glanced down at the books in his hand. Corona carefully leaned her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his. Vincent began flipping through the other books wondering how long it would take him to read them all.

"You don't have to read them, y'know..." She said, softly.

"I want to." The man replied, as he straightened the books into a neat stack on his lap.

"You're so sweet, Vincent," She said as she placed her free hand on his lap. "Don't you ever get tired of being nice all the time?"

"I didn't know I was all that nice." Vincent said.

"Oh, you are, I can tell," Corona stated.

"..Thank you." The man said.

"You're welcome," She said.

"...What time is it?" Vincent asked.

The purple haired girl pulled out her phone and check for the answer to his question. "It's like two in the mornin'. Are you tired? You can sleep here if you like."

The man rubbed his tired eyes. He had read a whole book and the effects of time passing was starting to take effect. "I can't seem to stay awake."

"Here, you can sleep here tonight and leave whenever you want," She said as she stood up and offered him a helping hand.

"I usually never do something like this," He said, "I'm sorry."

"You don't trust me," She said with a pout that she regretted because of her busted lip. "Then let's get you home..."

"No I trust you..I just feel like I am being rude," He explained.

"I offered you though and I never have guests except for you and Skyler," She said, "I haven't had anyone except for him visit me for most of my life. I would _love_ if you stayed here for the night."

Vincent thought for a moment. "Thank you…I will stay."

Her face lit up and she said, "You can stay in any bed you want! I have tons of rooms no one is using! You can have my room if ya' like!"

"I'll just take any room that you are not using. I don't want to run you out of your own room." He said.

Corona thought for a moment before taking his hand. "I know which room is perfect for you. Do you need some pajamas? I got men pajamas, if ya' like."

"Umm, sure." He said, following her.

She led him down to the end of the hallway, where a room was waiting. She unlocked the door for him, slowly opened it, and turned on the lights. It was very simple, like what you would expect any normal adult's room to be. The walls had a soft white tone to them which matched the brown bed covers. She reached into one of the tall, dark drawers and got two different types of pajamas: One with black pants and a white muscle shirt; the other was flannel, but they both looked comfy. Vincent picked up one of them at random and said, "Thank you."

"No problem," She said in a cheerful voice, "My room is at the other side of the house. If you have any problems you can tell me. I don't mind being woken up."

Vincent nodded once more and then yawned slightly, being glad she was kind enough to let him sleep in one of her rooms.

"Good night, Vincent," She said, noticing his sleepiness, and hurried towards the door, so he could be alone. Before she left she said, "Love you."


	5. Chapter 5

**I own nothing!**

"Ohh, C'mon!" Raiden whined leaning over Tseng's desk with a pleading look on her face. The man began to rub his temples like he was getting a headache.

"For the last time I refuse to let you bring an animal into my house." He stated.

"But it's just one cat..." She said, confused.

"I said no."

"But it has nowhere else to go."

"I said no."

"B-" The girl was then cut off by a long string of Wutain words spoken at a rapid pace by her uncle. This caused her face to whiten since, of course, she was the only one could possibly know the meaning of them, but let's just say she pushed the man too far. The girl sighed and looked down at her recently bandaged palms, playing with the white gauze until the man decided to shut up.

Tseng let out a frustrated sigh after a moment. "There are no animals allowed in my house, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir..." She said, reluctantly.

"Now, please, carry on with your tasks," Tseng said, looking back down at the work that was laid out on his desk.

"...Love you too." The girl grumbled as she walked out of the man's office.

"Aw, you love me, yo?" Reno said with a smirk and hugged her just as she shut the office door.

"Huh?" The girl said now flustered and confused by the sudden embrace.

He let her go, still smirking. "Did I scare you, yo?"

"No." She lied with a slight nervous laugh, avoiding eye contact.

The smirk didn't leave his face as he asked, "Did you just have a fight with Tseng, yo?"

"He was just being..." She paused faced the door and said in a loud enough voice for the man behind the door to hear, "Difficult!" with a light sigh she turned back around mumbling something in that foreign language of hers.

"About what?" He asked.

"I found a stray cat and Tseng says that I can't keep it because...well he never said why." She explained.

"Maybe he's scared of animals, yo," Reno said with a smirk.

"I-" Tseng said, a brief sentence loud enough for the two to hear through the door. Raiden began walking away from the door and smiled in an amused way, "He say's we're being too loud."

Reno smirked and followed her. "You not afraid of getting an earful from him, yo?"

"Hmm, try being scolded in two languages." Raiden replied.

"Try not listening, yo." Reno said.

She smiled, "What do you think I do?"

"Be the perfect niece, yo," Reno said with a mocking smile.

"Of course," She declared with a mischievous smile.

"Maybe that's why you can't have a pet, yo, it might corrupt you," He said.

She sighed playing with the bandages on her hand again, "I want one though."

"Maybe you should work at an animal shelter, yo," Reno suggested.

"Nah that sounds like too much work," Raiden replied, sounding rather lazy.

"So, you get it easy here, because Tseng is your uncle, yo?"

She thought for a moment, "I didn't think I did. I mean people treat how they want to."

"Not if they have someone watching them, yo," Reno stated in a sing-song voice.

She tilted her head in confusion, "Hmm?"

"Nothing, yo," He said with a smirk.

Raiden nodded slowly and then gave him one last confused look. She looked ahead of her with her arms swinging as she walked until suddenly she made a startled cry in pain followed by her grabbing her hand close to her as tiny sparks danced across her fingertips before disappearing.

She glared at the culprit, which happened to be a doorknob, her hand so carelessly bumped into. "Stupid doorknob," She mumbled being mad it was like a game of chance with her and metal.

"Did it shock you, yo?" He asked and opened it for her.

"Something like that." Raiden replied with a sigh.

The red headed man didn't think twice about this comment and watched her go through the door.

The girl rubbed her hand cussing out the doorknob under her breathe. Stuff like this always had to happen when she didn't expect it.

"C'mon, it couldn't have hurt that bad, yo," Reno said as he watched her rub her hand.

"It did." She stated.

The male shook his head, not wanting to start a fight with his new found crush. "If you say so, yo."

"I guess it didn't hurt that bad..." She said backtracking since her mind was starting to get paranoid of all the questions one could ask. She laughed nervously and said, "I guess I drag my feet too much."

"Or maybe the doorknob was mad at you, yo?" He joked.

"Maybe." The girl said with a shrug.

The red head looked around the room awkwardly and to save himself from the silence he began to whistle. It would all be silent expect a ShinRa higher up walked by looking for the newly hired girl.

"You." He said looking her way to where Raiden just pointed to Reno with questioning eyes hoping it was him. The man shook his head and sighed.

"I told you to take this file to Mr. Tuesti an hour ago." He stated, walking towards her with a thick stack of papers neatly placed in a yellowish colored folder. The girl paled having a look on her face that was like _oh, so that's what I forgot._

"...Yeah." She said awkwardly taking the file from him.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Just take it to him, ShinRa doesn't pay you to stand around and do nothing."

"Yes, sir." Raiden said, obediently as she looked down at the thick file now in her hands. She was silently blaming Tseng for distracting her with his rant on no animals, but this was an only an excuse to make her feel like she wasn't forgetful. Reno watched her walk off, before threatening the other man for being so rude.

The girl was rushing down the hallways in to deliver the file in fear her job was on the line. When really it wasn't. It was clear to a lot of people it would take a lot to fire her and the ones that didn't like her just didn't want to take the extra effort to. The girl, however, found it acceptable to think that she would be and rush to lay the thick file on Reeve's desk hoping this man wouldn't be too mad.

Of course, he wasn't. He just smiled warmly at her, thanked her, took the file, and flipped through it. The young girl nodded and hurried off elsewhere. There wasn't much at all for her to do here. She just had to run errands for the other employees while she had other things on her mind.

It wasn't exactly the most eventful day. So, much so that the girl was particularly happy when her work shift was over and done with. As promised, Reno walked her home. Raiden was at least a little chattier today on the way to her uncle's house.

"So, are you still single, yo?" Reno asked as he waited near the door of her house.

"Hmm?" the girl said as she glanced up at him curiously, "Yep, last time I checked."

"Well, when's the last time you checked, yo?" He asked with a smirk.

"Don't worry about it." Raiden said with a dramatic wink, but she humorously couldn't keep a straight face after it.

Reno chuckled and shook his head with a smirk. "Okay, well, next time you check I hope I have filled that empty spot, yo."

It took the girl a moment to process what he had said. Looking away she replied, "Y-you better not be joking about that..."

"Why would I joke about that, yo?" He asked with a smirk.

She shrugged feeling even more embarrassed as she looked at the ground, "..Well I guess now it's filled."

"I guess, we need to make this more official when we both get a break off work, yo," He said with a smile.

"Whatcha' mean?" Raiden asked as she glanced up at him quickly with slightly confused eyes.

"Lemme take you on a date, yo," Reno said, "We can go anywhere you want. I'll pay."

"M-mkay...Thank you" She said with a nod and bright smile as she once again failed to make eye contact. She began wondering if Tseng would approve of this. He wouldn't, would he? He hardly approved of a nice fluffy cat.

"I hope Tseng doesn't kill us, yo," Reno said with a smirk as if he could read her mind.

"...That man wouldn't let me have a cat, he's definitively going to kill us." She paused, "The question is who first?"

"I'd sacrifice myself for you, yo," He said with a wink.

She shook her head blushing slightly, "Pssh, whatever."

The red head ruffled her hair and said, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, yo."

She began straightening out her hair as she said in a happier tone, "um-alright, see ya."

Reno gave her a soft peck on the cheek before leaving with a happy whistling tune following behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing! And please review!**

Vincent woke up slightly confused when he found himself in a strange room, but then again it wasn't so strange at all. He shook his head at how silly he was being as he sat up and finally remembered he had gotten too sleepy to even walk home. Some company he was. The man stood up and walked outside his temporary bedroom to find Corona. He wanted to be better company today; that was for sure.

He easily found her sleeping on the couch of her living room with the television flashing pictures on different UFOs. She was lying down with a soft blue teddy bear that had angel wings in her arms. The poor thing looked old, torn up, and it need of a good scrubbing. Corona wasn't much for making it in bed once there was a good syfy movie on like there was last night.

Vincent sighed and chuckled slightly. He didn't want to wake the poor girl up when she looked so peaceful.

The bruises on her face had healed almost overnight and didn't show much evidence of anything actually happening the day before. In fact, the only thing that still gave a sign about the day before was the lost tooth, busted lip, and the cut above her eyebrow. She looked fine other than that.

Vincent sat down quietly on the chair next to the couch and looked at the television screen to see what was so entertaining. There was some scientist explaining the possibility of other creatures out there, that could may come to Earth. Some of the theories were outlandish, but maybe what had caught Corona's attention in the first place was the fact that these "aliens" they were describing were almost human-like, but not at the same time. They were smarter and much older, but still they looked young in some of the sketches.

The purple haired girl turned her back to the television and cuddled up to her bear, but in the process she lost her blanket.

Vincent glanced over at her sparing a small Vincent-like smile and then looked back at the television. Before he knew it, the show had changed to some syfy movie that didn't quite make sense to him since it was part of a series.

The thing that woke Corona was her cell phone going off and scaring her half to death. No one could tell if she was paying attention or not with that tired look in her eye, but when she hung up, she smiled sleepily at Vincent and said, "Good day, Vincent."

"Good Morning." Vincent replied.

She looked at the television for a moment before saying, "You could have changed the channel. This series sucks anyway."

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked, curiously.

"You can totally tell what is gonna happen," Corona said and pointed at the screen to some man, "His haircut totally gives away, he is gonna die. I mean, seriously, anyone with that hair is gonna die in a movie. Plus, who goes around and makes aliens angry? That's the dumbest thing you could do!" When a girl flashed on the screen she added, "If she dies than that will be a blessing for everyone. She's just extra baggage for the group, if you ask me. The one I would take with me is the person who knew what they were talking about, of course, though they will probably end up dying early on-just like in all movies made by this director."

"Interesting observation." Vincent commented.

Corona nodded, seeming far more interested in finding all the flaws in the movie instead of actually enjoying it. She shook her head softly since she had company. "Do you want some breakfast? I probably don't have anything super fancy like you would, but I must have something you like."

Vincent thought for a moment, "Sure, anything is fine."

"C'mon, you can look and I can cook," She said as she stood up and tossed her bear aside.

"Alright," Vincent said with a nod as he followed her example by standing up.

The kitchen was neat with a few cereal boxes or juice bottles sitting on the counter. The floor was tiled and the counter was granite. There were vines with blooming flowers all over the kitchen and if the vines created a shape she would paint people in some sort of scene inside it. She pointed at her stainless steel fridge with a large assortment of magnets on it and then at the pantry. "That's where the food is. Tell me what you want."

He walked over to the fridge and looked inside to find something simple for her to fix. He didn't want to be too troublesome. She had pretty basic foods in there, well, basic for a teenager living by themselves, that is. There was a lot more unhealthy food than there was healthy. With how long she had been living, he would have thought she would be more careful with her health, but then again it wasn't like she exactly knew how to cook much of anything.

"What do you like to eat?" Vincent asked.

"Generally, I don't," She said with a shrug, "I just keep that stuff for when my boyfriend comes over."

He nodded, "I'll just eat this." He pulled out something random, not really caring what he ate as long as it was edible.

She nodded and sat on the counter since it required not cooking what-so-ever. "You really look nice in a muscle shirt. You should wear stuff like that more often."

"Maybe." Vincent said, as he sat down at the table.

"Whaddya' mean 'maybe'," She asked with a laugh, but was happier he didn't sit in a certain chair, "I wanna hear a yes, man. You'd have girls all over you if you did. Like, mmm, man, like, mmm." She pretended as if she was rubbing down a male's chest in front of her as she said 'mmm'.

"I don't think I want that much female attention." Vincent said.

"Aw, why not?" She asked with a pretend pout, trying to hide the fact she was secretly happy about this.

"I just don't think I would find it enjoyable." He explained.

"Oh... I would love to have someone all over me," She said softly, thinking about it as she sipped some juice, "And not how Skyler is all over me either, but, y'know, like you see on the television..."

Vincent nodded understandingly.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked.

"No." Vincent stated.

She pondered this before saying, "I guess that's for the best. Skyler says I'm way more trouble than I'm worth-whatever that means. He seems mad all the time, y'know. I'd hate to see you like that."

"He shouldn't be mad at you." Vincent said, not liking Skyler at all.

She shrugged. "Eh, I'm sure I have my moments when I'm just being... me." She stared blankly at her fridge and took a sip of her juice. "Whatever, it isn't like it hurts all that much. I get better pretty fast, so if he needs to let out his anger, let him."

"…He should have never hit you." Vincent said sighing.

She looked over at him with dull eyes, only for a moment, but a happy tone, "He's really sorry, so it's okay, Vincent. Really, it's fine."

"...but still, a man should never hit a lady." Vincent said.

"No, it's okay," She said, having to look away from the man in her kitchen, so he wouldn't see the pain from her heart come across her face, "He doesn't mean it and it only hurts for the moment, so it's okay. I'm his girlfriend, so that's what I'm here for. It's-It's okay..."

Vincent shook his head, "No one should have to deal with a man like that."

She turned her back to him, placed her hands over her face, and said, "It is okay. His...His other girlfriend called me this morning..."

"...Other girlfriend?" Vincent asked, making sure he had heard her correctly.

She nodded slowly, but if she said anything she knew she'd give herself away.

"…Oh." Vincent said, looking down at the table, "It's none of my business, but he certainly doesn't deserve you."

Corona ran her fingers through her purple hair and let out a soft, pathetic laugh to mask her pain. "I think I got something in my eye. I better go wash it out..." She managed to say before sliding off the counter and hurrying off to her room, so she could get a hold of herself.

Vincent sighed, feeling as if he had said something wrong.

Corona stayed in her room for a few moments and cried softly into her pillow behind closed curtains, before washing her face to make it look half-way decent, placing a smile on her face, and joining Vincent back in the kitchen.

"Is everything alright?" Vincent asked with a worried look on his face.

"Oh, yeah," Corona said with a smile, "I just had something in my eye, but it's all better now."

Vincent nodded slowly, "Alright" He thought for a moment."Do you want to go anywhere today?"

She thought for a moment before she said, "Do I need something?"

"Do you?" He asked.

Corona shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think so..."

"I see..." Vincent said.

"I'm sorry, Vincent," She said, "I just don't have anything I need to get..."

"It's fine." The man said, "Maybe some other time."

"Yeah..." She said, feeling her mood go down more and more as the day progressed.

"Well." The man stood up, "Would you like to watch a movie?"

She shrugged softly, "I don't know if there are any movies on television right now, but with so many channels now-a-days I suppose there will be one..."

"Let's see if there is one." Vincent said in an attempt to see if a movie would cheer her up.

It was a good attempt as she scrolled through the channels mindlessly with her bear in her lap. The problem was since she stayed home all the time she had seen almost all the movies.

Vincent stared at the screen and occasionally looked back at the girl to see if her mood had lightened any. She didn't seem to be focusing on the screen at all. Corona just stared at the winged bear in her hands, inspecting him from every which angle.

Vincent sighed lightly to himself, not liking seeing her like this. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he felt the response wouldn't give him any indication on why she looked...well, glum. She began picking at the bear's button eye and looked out the window, feeling bored and upset.

"Is something wrong?" Vincent asked, hoping to get an answer.

She slowly nodded her head, but seemed like she was ready to build a wall, and block him out if she had to.

"...I'll listen." He stated.

Corona kept her eyes on her bear and said, "How long do you think he was cheating on me..? I mean, I shouldn't mind, but he could have at least told me..."

"...Hmm, I wouldn't know, but maybe you shouldn't dwell on someone like that and move on." Vincent said.

Corona hugged her bear tight and hid her face in its head in attempt to stop her tears. "How could you say that to me? That was _five years_, Vincent. I'm never gonna get those back and no one else is gonna love me."

"..Don't say that..." The man said as he awkwardly patted her back.

"And why not?" She said, turning away from him. "It's not like it matters. You're gonna die and I'm gonna be stuck here forever until the world ends and even with all that time I'm never gonna have someone who loves me the same... I just scare everyone off..."

"No, you don't," Vincent said, "...and besides you won't be the only one stuck with their sins for eternity."

"Sins...?" She questioned, feelings herself break down from that simple word.

"Oh... never mind...it's nothing." He said, looking away.

She pushed herself away from him, not wanting to get too close, and then getting hurt again. Besides, what if Skyler came back for her? She didn't want to be taken when she still had a chance. Vincent sighed, staying on his side of the couch now. He wondered if it was better if he just left her alone to sort her feelings out.

How had she been dealing with her emotions all these years anyway? With no one except Skyler to confide to about anything, she must have been lonely. She has really had no one for years now. Living in this big house by herself was just what she had to do and there was nothing to ease her loneliness, except for the people she painted. It seemed rather sad, but reminded Vincent of how lonely he used to be and was now.

"I-I built a kite last night," She chimed in softly after a bit of crying.

"That's nice." Vincent said with a light smile.

"I don't know if I did it right, but..." She looked at the door longingly.

"We can test it out." Vincent suggested.

Corona nodded, went to grab it quickly, and then brought it back to take outside.

Vincent walked towards the door, glancing back at her to see if she was ready to go outside. He was happy that he was at least getting her out of the house for once.

Since the sun was extremely hot to her she had wore some shorts that she had ordered online, so she could match one of her favorite actresses, and a baggy shirt that fell off her shoulder. Corona was holding a newly built blue and red kite with a matching tail.

Vincent glanced up at the sky, wondering if he even remembered how to work a kite. Corona looked around her yard that she had cleaned up while Vincent was sleeping and nodded in approval since she hadn't missed a spot. "I read a few articles on how to work this thing and it sounds simple enough."

"Alright." Vincent said, still surveying the sky, "Then let's test it out."

Corona gave the kite about three feet of string before she began to run, waiting for the kite to catch some wind. When it finally did she slowed her pace a bit so she could feed it more string until it was up in the sky and she could stand still.

"I guess it works." Vincent commented as he watched the thing soar in the air with a background of blue sky and white fluffy clouds.

"We picked a good day to do this," She said as she watched, curiously.

Vincent nodded in agreement, "I'm glad the wind is at least at a sufficient level today."

Corona watched; still not feeling like she was good company for anyone.

"We should do this more often." Vincent suggested as he watched several birds fly too low, almost hitting the kite.

"Why?" She asked softly as if she were afraid that simple question would set him off in a rage.

"I like spending time with you." He said bluntly in that gruff voice of his.

"You don't have to lie because I'm already upset," She said and just wanted to let the kite go, so she could go back inside where it was dark and safe.

Vincent looked at her with serious eyes, "I wasn't lying."

She shook her head, kept her eyes on the kite, and said, "You are so silly sometimes. Saying stuff like that to me will get my hopes up and I don't need that. Especially when Skyler comes back..."

Vincent sighed, "Alright." He glanced back up at the sky feeling a wall was being built between him and her again. It would always be like that when Skyler was involved it seems.

"Here, you try flying it," Corona said and held out the end to him.

Vincent took it, reluctantly, of course, and held back a frustrated sigh as the kite did not go in any of the directions he wanted it to. Corona noticed his frustration and since she had read a few articles on how to control a kite, she walked behind him, and placed her hands on his arms. "Here, let me show you how to make it move how you want..."

"...Thanks." The man mumbled, feeling embarrassed he was being out smarted by a child's toy. The girl simply helped him by showing him which way to move for what and after she was done she didn't move. It had been a while since she had gotten to touch someone without being shoved off.

Vincent didn't seem to mind the girl as still clinging onto him. He just watched the kite dance gracefully in the air and thought about how long it had been since he did something such as this. Had it been when he was a child? That would be far too long ago.

Corona couldn't even say that much. Her father made her scared of everything to the point even after he died she wouldn't disobey him. The sunlight still scared her even with Vincent with her, but at least she had someone.

"This is fun..." She mumbled softly.

"...Yeah." Vincent said, feeling himself want to smile again.

Corona snuggled up to him, seeing how much she could get away with before he hit her. "The weather is nice..."

"It is." Vincent agreed, "At least, we seem to have picked a good day to fly a kite."

He could feel her nod slowly as she put her phone to her ear, since it began ringing before she could answer him. He could hear a male on the other end, talking softly, but whenever the girl tried to talk, she got yelled at until she hung up and placed the phone back in her pocket. "I'm glad this kite worked..."

"...Who was that?" Vincent asked.

"It was Skyler..." She said, feeling ashamed, "He wanted to tell me it was my fault he went with another girl, but... But if I'm good he'll take me back..."

"Don't go back to him." Vincent said, "I know it's none of my business but still."

"He's right though," Corona said, "If I wasn't a bad girlfriend he wouldn't have had to find someone better..."

"No, he's just not man enough to admit he's wrong." Vincent stated, coldly.

"You know that's not true," She said, pulling back from him, "He said he was sorry, so it's okay. He didn't mean it."

"I would stay away from him if I were you." Vincent said, leaving it at that.

"You're acting like he did something wrong when he didn't," She said softly.

Vincent stayed silent but shook his head. Corona looked at the ground with a feeling of shame swell up inside her. "I think I need to go back inside..."

"Alright." Vincent said as he looked at his watch, deciding if he should head back home. Corona took the kite from him, brought it to the ground, and went inside without another word.


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing! Enjoy!**

"Keep your voice down, will you, please?" Corona asked, remaining calm toward the man, who was seething in anger. She didn't know what she had done to set him off, but she knew she had done something wrong. The girl had given up on fighting with him long ago. It only took her one brutal beating for her to learn never talk back.

His anger had been more often than usual, never giving her enough time to recover properly. Her body was still bruised from her last beating that she received after Vincent left. Those purplish or yellow-brown spots were defined on her pale skin. She never became angry about them though, she just wanted her boyfriend to be happy with her like he once was. He hadn't been happy with her for quite some time though. Even now while he harshly shoved her against the wall she tried to understand and forgive him.

"You haven't changed in all the years I've known you," He said in an angry tone, but lowered it, just in case Vincent came over. "That isn't even an exaggeration! You literally have _NOT_ grown or matured any for five years! You look the exact same while I've aged!"

"I can't age," She said softly, "I've told you that before..."

"You fucking liar!" He shouted and was frustrated from the outlandish sounding truth, "You think you have something special about you, but you don't! You-You're just... Ugh! Corona, how do you expect me to be with you if you won't tell the truth?"

She looked down and kept her soft tone when she said, "I'm not lying..."

The blonde boy finally snapped-in the back of his mind he just wanted to walk away and tackle the topic another way, but he was far too frustrated with her naive look. Skyler grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her close, and then shoved her back into the wall repeatedly with great force. She closed her eyes tight, not wanting to see the anger in his eyes.

He was trying to hold back, but his blind rage was starting to sink in when she didn't make an attempt to stop him. He stopped that pointless shoving on exchange for slamming her face against the wall with the palm of his hand. With his free hand he grabbed his pocket knife, opened it up, sunk it into her collar bone, and down her body with a shaky hand. He stopped under her breast and was shocked to see her crying for once.

"C-Can you just stop it..?" She asked with a shaky voice, but made no attempt to stop the blood. Her begging voice made him angrier and he bit his lip, so he went back to shoving her to the ground and kicking her until she began moving to her room, where he wanted her. Corona's blood had dropped onto the floor- if it wasn't soaked up by her now cut shirt.

When she was leaning against the end of the canopy bed holding herself, Skyler cleaned off his knife before kneeling down next to her and placing it to her cheek. He applied pressure before moving it across her face. "I don't want you seeing Vincent anymore. He's a bad influence on you..." He said as he lifted his knife.

Corona grabbed her face and nodded, letting out silent tears.

"You're pathetic," Skyler said harshly and forced her hands down, "Move your damn hands. I want to see you bleed."

The purple haired girl summoned up all she could and screamed bloody murder, hoping someone would hear. Skyler placed his hands over her mouth and swore. "Damn it, do you want me to leave you?" He said in a threatening tone which made her shake her head no. It seemed like it had hit the fan.

Corona looked around anxiously and placed her bloody, shaky hands on his shoulders to shove him off, but he slapped them off before she could. "You stupid whore, stop touching me," He said as he stood up, "I better not see Vincent around her anymore, got it?"

She nodded quickly and was happy when he left, even if he slammed the door behind him. She was now bleeding out on the floor, going back into her state of loneliness. In the back of her mind she wanted to sit there and listen, but for once she wanted to get back at Skyler, even if he hit her for it.

Corona stood on tired, bare feet, went outside, walked to Vincent's house, and rung the doorbell. She was surprised she hadn't passed out from losing blood yet, but was happy about that too. The raven haired man opened the door and then just looked at her in a state of shock.

"I got in trouble for talking to you," She said softly and felt light headed, "We can't be friends."

He completely ignored what she was saying, "...What happened?"

"I was bad," She said and held shut her shirt.

"We need to get you to the hospital." Vincent said as he shut his front door behind him. He seemed to be in a panic as he looked at the girl, not knowing if she would even agree.

"It's okay, I'll get better by myself," She stated.

He gave her a skeptical look and then remembered he had something to fix her up. "Wait here." He said as he ran inside the house to get a hi-potion and just hoped her wounds would heal with this.

"At least, drink this," Vincent said when he came back, potion in hand.

She did as she was told and drank every last drop. The wounds began to glow a bright green and then slowly faded leaving behind most of the bruises and cuts. Vincent sighed in relief.

"Please stay here." He begged, now worried what Skyler would do to her later on when he wasn't around again.

"I told you we can't be friends anymore..." She said softly.

"...Please." Vincent said, "I don't want him to do that to you again." He sighed and rubbed his head like he was beginning to get a headache.

"You come to my house then," She said quickly, "My house is bigger, so there is enough space for both of us to do whatever."

He sighed in relief again. "Alright, I'll stay with you; let's just get you inside so you can rest."

Corona shook her head. "I'm not tired."

"Even so you might want to sit down and rest." He said as he grabbed onto her free hand and began leading her back to her own house. She just stayed silent as he took charge of her. It was strange for her to have someone worry so much after so long. She sat on her couch when they got home and didn't say anything that might set him off.

Vincent sat down on the chair next to the couch and rested his head in one of his hands as he tried to think of what to do or even why he was going through all this trouble for his girl neighbor. It all seemed so odd to him.

Corona shifted in her seat and mumbled, "Thank you for the potion..."

"It was nothing..." He said, being snapped out of his thoughts.

"You don't have to stay here," She said, "I'll get in trouble if you do..."

"I think it's best if I stay..." He said, looking worried again. Was he making the right choice?

She looked at him and then at the ground. "How long are you going to stay?"

"...I don't know." Vincent said, "I guess until I know you are safe."

"I'm safe if I don't go outside," She said.

"Maybe." Vincent said, thinking about it.

Corona looked away from the general area of him, afraid of the look she might receive. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be." He said.

"I wish I was a better neighbor..." She said and brought her hands up to her face, so he couldn't see the fresh tears coming up in her eyes.

He sighed and dropped his head back into his hands as he began thinking again. It was quite a scene to see the two, both of them being distressed for different reasons.

Corona cried to herself until she fell asleep, not being able to deal with her stress anymore. Vincent covered her up with a blanket and yawned, feeling as if she had the right idea, but he wasn't about to leave her alone. Her phone began vibrating on the table, creating a buzzing noise.

"I wouldn't answer that." Vincent said, softly as he looked at the phone.

The girl softly mumbled something in her sleep and pulled the blanket over her head. She never heard the phone buzzing repeatedly.

He sighed, she was still sound asleep. The man picked up her phone with the silent movements one might call ninja like and checked the caller ID. It was the only person on her phone contact: Skyler. The man made a sound of annoyance and turned off her phone; He wouldn't be calling her anytime soon if Vincent could help it.

Corona moved uncomfortably in her sleep and reached out for her bear, not being able to find it. She grabbed Vincent's cape which was good enough for her. The man flinched, but calmed down when he noticed it was just her. Vincent sighed and looked the sleeping girl wondering what he could do for her. One thing was for sure, her "boyfriend" wouldn't get anywhere near her while he was staying there. He just didn't know how long he could stay, but then again what was waiting for him back home? Nothing, nothing at all.

The girl wasn't allowed to see him anymore according to Skyler, so would him staying get her hurt worse? Then again Skyler was scared of him, so, in essence, it mattered none.

"Vincent... I have a bed for you if you're tired," The girl mumbled in a tone which could easily show she was half-asleep.

"I know." Vincent said, quietly, "Go back to sleep."

"Don't leave me," She said softly. Her eyes were still closed, since it was too much for her to open them.

"I won't." He said, in a reassuring way.

"Everyone leaves..." She mumbled, "Don't be like everyone..."

"I'm staying right here." He stated.

"I love you," She said with a soft yawn.

Vincent opened his mouth as if wanted to say it back. He hesitated thinking that would be silly to repeat it back to a woman he barely knew, but strangely he felt that it would be okay if he did. He just looked away from the girl's face to across the room to stare at nothingness.

Corona let her hand fall to the floor in her sleep, not being awake enough to keep hold. Vincent sighed again and leaned back in his chair as he closed his crimson red eyes. It was very easy to fall asleep in such a dark, peaceful house. It was like night, even though outside it was day.

So, it was no surprise he slept peacefully until night hit and it seemed like day to him. The blanket was over him and Corona was no longer on the couch beside him. He sat up wondering where the poor girl had gone to.

She couldn't have gone far, could she? Corona could hardly leave her front yard without becoming nervous. This mess made no sense. Nothing did in this house, anyway. He may as well learn that quickly if he wanted to survive more than a day here. Would he even, it was hard to tell.

She was bound to return eventually, right? So there was no need to worry. Of course, because everything would alright.

She came back with a beaming smile that could light up the whole room. "Oh, Vincent, you're awake." Corona was dressed a bit nicer than usual and smelt lightly of flowery perfume.

"Good morning." The man said as he pulled the blanket off of his now awake body.

"It's not morning, silly," She stated, "The sun just set a few minutes ago."

"Oh, well then, good evening." Vincent said, correcting himself.

She held out a pair of high-heel shoes out with some straps. "Can you help me put these on?"

"Um, sure," The man said as he took the heels from her and motioned for her to sit down next to him.

Corona sat on the arm of his chair and held on to his shoulder, so she wouldn't fall. Vincent carefully slipped the shoes on her feet and buckled them, looking like he had way too much practice with this.

"Thank you," She said as she admired his handy work, "You like 'em? I ordered them off this one website and they got here really fast."

Vincent nodded in approval as he examined them carefully, "They suit you."

She smiled at the black heels and straps that crossed over her feet. "I like 'em well enough."

"Good," Vincent said, smiling some at her childishness.

"Y'know, tonight is the night I get to go out and buy new hair dye," She said, "I think I'm gonna try neon green this time."

"I may have to come with you just in case." Vincent said.

She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Why? It's just across town. I go there every few weeks for a new color and nothing ever happens."

"Just to be safe." He explained.

"It's okay, if anyone tries anything I'll give them the ole one-two," She said with a giggle and gently brushed Vincent's face with her fist.

He sighed, she certainly didn't last time, "Even so, I am still going to accompany you there."

"You're upset with me," Corona said, looking down at her hands, "I'm sorry..."

"I'm not mad at you." He said, "I just want to make sure no one hurts you again."

"I'm sorry... I'll stay inside. I'll just order it..." She said and slid off the couch to go get her computer.

Vincent sighed and lean back in the chair. He just couldn't say anything right it seemed. Corona opened up her computer that sat on the coffee table and went to the website for the company she bought her hair dye from. She sat in front of the screen and scrolled down the pages of different colors, most of which she's used. "You think neon green is alright, right?" She asked timidly; not wanting to order it and then it be bad.

"It's fine." He said from his chair.

She nodded and ordered the color without a second thought. After that Corona shut her computer, mumbled a "see ya' later" and went to her room. She lied on top of her covers and shoved her face in her pillow. It was no fun having guests anymore. Having two people to talk to was just so overwhelming for her. It was easier when she only knew one person at a time and had to only worry about one of them thought. Now everything had changed and all she could do was build up a wall to keep both of them out and sleep.

The outside had become a place far too dangerous for her like it was before; she was nothing, but a fragile flower that didn't realize how cruel the world was like before. Just when she was starting to have her life go whichever way she wanted, something happened and now it was back to the state where she needed to ask for permission for anything. No one was every happy with her anymore. The only person that ever gave her a loving smile was her dad, and where was he now? In the grave where she could no longer speak with him or ask him to hold her when she had a scary dream or couldn't decide which way was the right way. Having her dad back is what she wanted most. He would never let things go this far. He would protect her from anything and she would believe everything he said in exchange, because she was his little girl and it was just that simple


	8. Chapter 8

**I own nothing! Also, thank you for the reviews. **

"Yo," Reno said after Tseng opened the door. The red head was wearing baggy jeans, converses, and a black shirt with some band name that he loved.

"What are you doing at my house?" Tseng asked, thinking this whole thing was sketchy.

"Picking up Raiden, yo," Reno stated with a smug look.

"May I ask why you are picking up my niece, Reno?" Tseng asked which sounded more like a demand than a question.

"I'm taking her on a date, yo," Reno stated in a sing-song voice.

Tseng made a tisk of annoyance, and said in a loud voice, "Raiden!"

The sound of something falling and crashing was soon followed along with a "w-what?"

"Come here..." Tseng said with a sigh. The girl walked from wherever she was and then almost walked away when she saw the look on his face, if it wasn't for Tseng pulling her back by her arm.

"Thanks for getting her for me, yo," Reno said and gently grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast." Tseng said as he grabbed the girl's other arm, "First, Raiden. What did you break?"

"..."

"Raiden!"

"Don't worry about it...it wasn't expensive"

Tseng sighed, and mumbled something under his breath. He then looked up at Reno, "And second...Since I assume can't stop this nonsense which I highly don't approve of-"

"Did you just say nonsense? I'm pretty sure it-"

"Raiden."

"...go on."

"Anyway," Tseng said sending a don't-you-dare-talk-again look at the girl and then looking back up at Reno, "You will have her back by a reasonable time, you will behave yourself, and you will not by any means do anything bad to her, do you understand?"

"Well there go those plans, yo," Reno said and pretended to be upset before he said, "I'm taking her to see a movie they're showing in the park. There isn't gonna be any funny business, man; just two normal people going on a date. After the movie I'll probably take her to get something to eat. Nothing bad, see? I'll have her back in one piece, yo."

Tseng thought for a moment, sighed, and released the girls arm, "Alright."

"Ya' ready to go, yo?" Reno asked in the gentlest tone Tseng had ever heard him use before. The girl looked over at Tseng before answering.

"I said alright, didn't I?" Tseng said.

Raiden smiled at her uncle and looked back up at Reno to say a timid, "Yep."

The red head wrapped his arm around the girl and lead her to the streets. "I hope you don't mind watching a movie in the park, yo."

"Nah, that sounds cool." Raiden said, and then looked down shyly at the tops of her black combat boots. The realization of what was going on was just starting to hit her now.

"You just never told me what you wanted, yo," Reno stated.

"Sorry." The girl apologized, "I'm not picky...well more like indecisive…"

"That's cool, yo," Reno said with a smirk, "It'll be easy to keep you happy."

"The sad thing is that's probably true." Raiden said with a quick laugh.

"Do you like scary movies, yo?" Reno asked.

"Hmm…" Raiden said thinking and then shrugged, "It depends."

"Well, I hope you do this time, yo," Reno said.

"As long as it doesn't have clowns it should be fine." She replied, smiling but being quite serious.

"Well," He chuckled, "Thank Gaia it doesn't."  
>"What about spiders?" she asked.<p>

"I can't guarantee that, yo." He said.

"Well one out of two ain't bad." She said, good naturedly

"Glad you're easy going, yo," Reno said.

"I try to be." She said as she looked at the passing scenery, "I guess I'm not like my uncle at all, huh."

"Nah," The red head said, "But I like you much better, yo."

"I would hope so, because if you didn't then we would have a problem." Raiden said, smiling.

He nodded and lead her to the part of the park where everyone is waiting. "Where do you wanna sit, yo?"

"Oh, umm…" The girl looked around and then pointed to a random spot. "There is fine..."

"Behind a tree isn't fine, yo," He chuckled and took her hand, "But maybe there is a spot free in front of it."

She blushed, "Y-yeah, in front of it would be more ideal..."

Luckily for them, the spot in front of the tree was open, so they sat down and waited for the movie to start. The girl waited patiently as she looked over at the screen, still feeling slightly embarrassed.

"If you get cold just tell me, yo." Reno said softly.

"Alright." Raiden said with a nod as she looked up at the movie that was just now starting. For a scary movie being shown publicly it was surprisingly good. The pop ups were properly set and the story line actually required thinking. Set so well that the girl shrieked something in wutain as she jumped back, almost hitting her head on the tree behind her when it happened. Reno, being the man he is, would wrap his arms around the girl when this happened. All in all, thankfully, the girl thought it was a pretty good movie.

When it was over Reno didn't think it was too late and asked, "Where do you wanna eat, yo?"

"Umm, the diner we passed by on the way here is fine..." She replied, not caring too much on where she ate.

"Good choice," Reno said with a smile, "They have awesome coffee, yo."

"Do you plan on drinking it this late?" She asked, confused.

"Yeah, I don't see why not, yo," Reno said.

"You'll be all spazzy and stuff if ya' drink it this late." Raiden said.

"I do it all the time, yo," Reno stated.

"Well alright..." The girl said, still confused, "just don't say I didn't warned you when you are too spazzy to sleep."

"I won't be, yo," Reno said as he held the door open for her.

The girl just shook her head with a smile as she walked through the door. A hostess led them to their seats and gave them the menus like they usually do and walked off for them to decide what they want for when the waitress comes.

Raiden yawned softly and then said, "That movie was pretty good, it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be."

"You were holding onto me an awful lot, yo," Reno said with a smirk.

She blushed and said in an accusing tone, "B-but you let it happen an awful lot."

"Did you want me to push you off, yo?" Reno asked, still wearing that smirk.

"Uhh..." She looked confused and then said something in Wutain knowing he wouldn't know what she was saying and looked down at her menu. When the waitress came back they placed their orders and now it was time to play the waiting game.

Raiden glanced out the window and practically freaked out when she made random eye contact with a stranger; somehow in the process of her turning away so quickly her hand bumped into the metal that was her fork and shocked her. She pressed her free hand against her mouth to suppress the string of words Tseng would not approve of.

"Ya' shock yourself again, yo?" Reno asked.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about." She lied, clearly looking like she was trying her best to make it look like nothing happened it was comical.

Reno rolled his eyes and gave her a playful smirk, "Ya' still dragging your feet, yo?"

She made an amused face and then sighed, knowing all too well why it happened, "Nah."

"Well, I hope this string of shocking stops, yo," Reno said.

"...It won't." The girl said; nervous laughter soon to follow even though her eyes were serious.

"Why do you say that, yo?" He asked.

" 'Cause metal...metal reacts to lighting." Raiden stated softly, as she played with a straw wrapper.

"So?" He asked as the waitress set the food in front of them.

She sighed, "Do you have your mag rod with you?"

"No," He said with a smirk, "I don't just carry that thing around with me, yo."

"This is going to be harder to explain then..." The girl said thinking of a plan B.

"Don't worry about it, yo; Just enjoy yourself for now," Reno said.

"Alright." Raiden said as she picked up her fork which didn't shock her this time.

"We can do this again," He said, "Go on a date, I mean, yo."

"That's weird." She said, seeming surprised, "I thought you wouldn't like me after spending this much time with me."

"That's weird." She said, seeming surprised, "I thought you wouldn't like me after spending this much time with me."

"Why would I ask you on a date if I didn't want to spend more time with you, yo?" He inquired with a smirk.

"Because you don't know me well enough to know better," She said with a shrug and another nervous laugh.

"Well, I'm enjoying your company right now, so stop questioning it, yo."

"Someone's sassy." Raiden said in amusement.

The man chuckled and softly shook his head before taking another bite into his meal. Raiden began eating her food again seeming content, and thinking of ways she could mess with her uncle.

"So, does Tseng consider ten-thirty an appropriate time to have you home, yo?" Reno asked as he looked at his watch.

"Pssh if he had his way it would be like six thirty...but yeah, that's fair enough."

Raiden replied, "You could freak him out and take me home later just to see if he would spazz out though."

A smirk grew on the man's face as he asked, "Is that what you want, yo?"

She thought for a moment and shrugged, "I think it would be funny."

"If that's what you want, yo." He said.

"Alright then, he's gonna kill you though." She said with a smile.

"Whoa, this is our first date, yo," Reno said as he put his hands up in a defensive manner, "I'm not ready to risk my life for you yet."

Raiden laughed, covering her mouth with her hand, "Never mind then"

"Maybe after a few more dates, yo," Reno said before finishing the rest of his food.

Raiden smiled as she quickly began finishing up her plate. Tseng wouldn't kill anyone today.

"Next week I'll pick you up at the same time, yo," Reno said, "If that is okay with you."

"Y-yeah that's fine." Raiden said, seeming surprised again. She received a smile before he got up and said, "I'm going to pay for this and then I'll get you back home, yo."

"Alrighty," The girl replied, and then stood up and yawned some while she waited for him to get done paying. After he was finished, they began the trip back to Tseng's house. The streets were crowded with the usual late night crowd of Midgar, to which the girl was looking at curiously. They all seemed to be college students, teenagers, or people getting off work. The one thing they had in common was they all were content with where they were going.

"There are a lot of people out tonight." The girl commented out loud.

"Well, it is a Friday night,yo," Reno stated.

Raiden hit one of her hands in the palm of the other, "Oh yeah! It is isn't it?"

"Did you really forget, yo?" He asked with a smirk.

"Well, if ya wanna put it that way." She said as she crossed her arms.

"Calm down, yo, I was just teasing you," He said and ruffled her hair.

"Mmhmm, sure you were." Raiden said.

"Do you want me to mean it, yo?" He asked with a cocky tone.

'Yes!" she said, trying to keep a straight face.

"You're an interesting girl, yo," Reno said.

"I think I'm the exact opposite." She stated, looking at the road ahead of her.

"Just take the compliment, yo." He said.

"I don't know, I like to make things difficult." She said.

"I guess I'll have to learn to deal with that, yo," He said and placed his hands in his pockets.

"Only sometimes." She said as she jumped over something on the sidewalk. The red head smiled at her, feeling content with this date and was already looking forward to the next one.

She yawned and stopped when she saw they had made it back to Tseng's house already, "Hmm...lights are still on."

"He probably thinks I killed you or something, yo," The red head said.

"Well he expects that to happen to me anyway." She said, sighing.

Reno smiled and said, "Well, let's get you inside before I get killed, yo." He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her cheek.

"A-alright." She said with a mock salute and started for the door. It had been a pleasant evening for both of them and hopefully it lasted like this.


	9. Chapter 9

**I own nothing! Am I throwing the updates at you guys, aren't I? Well, haven't been able to update earlier, so the chapters kind of piled up.**

Ever since Vincent had started staying with her, Corona became more timid. It had only been a week and he could tell what her schedule was. She woke when the sun set, after that she showered, then drank some juice with some medicine to follow, and finally she would go back to her room until the next day. It was like a never ending cycle of nothingness. And with her not going outside now the plants were beginning to die, but even with knowing that wouldn't make her change her schedule. Today was no exception as she decided which juice she wanted for the day. He needed to take her out for some much needed sunlight.

She had already taken her shower for the day, so after she finished the juice she headed back to her room. Vincent sighed and left to go force her outside for once. When he entered her room she was taking out her red contacts.

"Corona." Vincent said, "I think it's best if you get out of the house today."

She squinted her light brown eyes at him, since she was as blind as a bat without her contacts in. "Vincent? Is that you?"

"Yes." He replied, looking confused.

"Stay right there..." She said and slowly walked over to him, stumbling on her own feet a few times before she was in front of him with a goofy smile. "Sorry. I couldn't see you over there." Her light brown eyes had a sparkle that couldn't be named for what caused it, but it had been hidden behind the contacts. She had put her neon hair into two braids that sat on her chest, since he had walked in just as she was readying herself for bed. Her blue pajamas were long, loose pants and a spaghetti strap shirt. "Now, what did you say? My hearing isn't bad, but I was kind of thrown off guard. By the way, have you ever heard of knocking? Could you imagine if I was wearing any clothes and you just came in! I mean, unless you did knock and I just didn't hear, then I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure you didn't knock," She said with a goofy smile as she began to ramble because it had been a while since she had talked to anyone, "Also, have you seen my phone? Ever since Skyler and I had that fight I haven't been able to find it. No one calls me, except for him, and I don't want to tell him I lost it. He'll think I'm stupid, y'know. I mean, I'm not super smart or anything, but y'know... I'd hate for him to think I'm stupid. That wouldn't be a good outlook on someone. Have you been sleeping well? I have; I like sleeping a lot. Last night there was a marathon of vampire movies and I watched it on my television." She quickly pointed at the small television on top of her dresser. "See? I have a television in my room. I moved it here the other night, so you wouldn't have to watch television with me. Well, actually, I just didn't want you to yell at me for watching something that I wasn't supposed to. You don't really yell, but you always get this upset look on your face like I couldn't have done anything worse at the moment than just existing. You don't have to stay with me, y'know. I can take care of myself. I have for a while now. My dad died ten years ago, so I've been staying by myself for a while now. He died from an experiment gone wrong. I've been experimented on before, did you know that? I did. It was kind of nice seeing someone else for once. I love my daddy a lot though, so don't get me wrong. The other man that came a visited me when I got really sick was kind of scary. He was really scary when he laughed actually. It was more like a cackle, if you ask me, but I suppose you didn't. That was my mistake, I'm sorry. Am I talking too much?"

"No." Vincent said, smiling a bit, "It's the most I've heard you speak...It's nice."

"I shouldn't talk too much. It's not nice. At least, that's what I've been told. I like hearing people talk, but I don't get to hear it much, unless I watch bunches and bunches of television, which can't be healthy, but I don't know. Man, I don't know why I am so chatty all of a sudden. I think it's because I can't see. Y'know that whole lose one sense-make another stronger, but talking isn't a sense, so it doesn't make much, well, sense," She smiled and twirled some hair around her finger, "Did you need something?"

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere today." Vincent said, "You haven't been out in awhile."

He quickly could see fear arise in her eyes. "That's okay. I was going to go to sleep early tonight," She said quickly, "And besides outside is too dangerous. I should stay inside. It's for the best."

Vincent sighed, "I think it would be good for you. You need to get some sun."

"It's night, and I spent almost all my life inside..." She mumbled, looking at her bare feet.

"Yes, I know, but let me take you somewhere." Vincent begged, "We can go buy hair dye, go to the park, or shop for art supplies...anything."

Corona kept her eyes glued to the ground and softly said, "Alright..."

Vincent sighed, "Sorry...I just think it would be best if you got out today."

"I'll go change my clothes..." She said and on her way to her closet she tripped on her foot. "I think I need my contacts first..." She said with a laugh.

"I'll wait in the living room then." Vincent stated before walking off.

She put in some gray contacts before deciding that she would wear something a little nicer than she had been for the last week. A simple white spaghetti strapped shirt over a red tank top and a pair of skinny jeans that had a rip in the right knee from when Skyler had pulled her across the ground by her hair. She grabbed her messenger bag that had stars on it and some flats she had just bought, before she went out to Vincent.

"You ready to go?" Vincent asked.

"Yessir," Corona said as she slipped on her shoes.

Vincent nodded and headed for the front door.

Before she went outside, Corona grabbed her bear from off the couch. "Quebec wants to come..." She said, holding her bear close with one hand, and locked the door with the other.

"Alright," Vincent said, "Where do you desire to go?"

She hopped down the two concrete steps which made her green hair bounce and said, "I don't know. I saw something on the television that couples do and I thought it'd be fun to try out, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, it's fine." Vincent said with a slight nod.

"Okay, I saw them go to this place-it was outside-with lots of lights and there was like other people," Corona said, "And they looked like they were having fun and-and I got a flyer for something like it in the mail and, well, I kind of borrowed your phone while you were sleeping and asked Skyler to go with me, but he said no. Okay, it wasn't him, it was that other lady, but that's okay. So, I wanted you to go with me, since I don't know anyone else..."

"Alright, do you know where it is?" He asked.

"Oh! Um..." She awkwardly held her bear as she dug through her purse and then handed him the flyer for the festival they had every year in town square. "I've never been to one before, but I've seen them on the television before and they looked fun..."

"Hmm, alright I think I know where this is." Vincent said as he studied the flyer, "We are heading the right way thankfully."

The female followed closely behind him and said, "Do you think there will be other couples there?"

"I can almost guarantee that." Vincent stated, "Why are you so interested in couples?"

"Well, uh," She blushed deeply as she stared at her feet, "I just wanna see, y'know..."

"Oh..." Vincent said, "That's acceptable."

"Do you not like couples?" She asked.

"I don't like the obnoxious ones." He stated, "But most of them are...fine." Vincent looked ahead, already hearing the sound of festivities taking place.

"Do you not like us being a couple?" She asked with that naive smile.

"I didn't think we were one. I thought you still wanted to be with Skyler." Vincent stated, being confused.

"Well, he has another girlfriend, so am I not allowed having another boyfriend?" She asked.

"We can be a couple, it is very possible...but Skyler is a problem." Vincent said.

"Why?" Corona asked and blinked twice.

"You can't have two boyfriends, Corona." Vincent explained. He stopped and glanced over to her, "Looks like we're here."

"Wowwy," She said with a big smile as she looked at all the lights and took in all the sounds. "It's so amazing, Vincent!"

"What do you want to do first?" Vincent asked.

She jumped up and down trying to see past people. "There!" She pointed over someone. "There!" Jump. "A booth!" Jump. "They have books!" Jump. "And toys!" Jump. "Do you see it?"

Vincent looked through the crowd, "Then let's go." He grabbed the girl's hand and led her through the crowd to her desired booth. She anxiously rummaged through the books when they arrived; trying to decide which one she wanted most.

"They have games here too." Vincent said as he watched the girl.

"Games? I've never played games with strangers before," She said, looking excited.

"Well at certain booths they have games set up." Vincent explained

"Am I allowed to play?" She asked.

"Of course...Why wouldn't you be?" He said, raising one eyebrow in confusion.

Well, daddy always told me playing games with strangers was dangerous," She said as she looked at a book.

"I don't imagine the games here would be that dangerous." Vincent said

"Oh, but they could be," She said, "When I was younger that scary man told me that I got sick from the germs other people had and I didn't even go out that much, so could you imagine it now?"

"Don't worry about those things." Vincent said and then looked down at some books she had pulled out, "Are those the ones you are getting?"

"Mhm," She smiled at her little stack, "I think they'll be good."

He nodded and handed some Gil to the man running the booth, "Let's go find some games now."

"You didn't have to pay for my books, Vincent," She said, "I was gonna pay for them."

"It's fine, now come on." The man said as he began walking to another booth

She picked up her books and quickly followed him. "What games are there?"

"I don't know." Vincent admitted, "I haven't been to one of these things since I was a kid."

"Whoa, you got to go outside when you were a kid!" She exclaimed, looking like he just said he saved the world-which he had done.

"Well...yes." Vincent said.

"That's so cool," She said in a softer more dreamy tone.

"Hmm, I suppose," Vincent said.

Corona looked at the booth they stopped in front of and felt uneasy. The object of the game was to knock down all the pins and when a prize, a classic game.

"Why don't you try that one?" Vincent suggested.

"No! I can't!" She exclaimed and squeezed her bear's hand tightly.

"Then let's find another booth then..." Vincent said

"Why don't we just not play games...?" She said in a barely audible voice.

"Umm, alright...Let's...Let's look for some food, alright?" He suggested.

Corona nodded as she got closer to Vincent, since all these new people where making her nervous and one couple had bumped into her by accident. Vincent turned around to grab onto her hand. He wanted to make sure he didn't lose her. The only problem was, she took this as her invite to move under his arm, since in her mind they were still on the couple thing.

Vincent just looked down confused, but went with it. "I think they are selling some sweets over here." He said as he led her to the upcoming booth.

"That sounds nice..." She said, feeling exhausted already.

He simply nodded and stopped in front of a booth selling all sorts of sweet treats, from cookies to cakes and even small pastries of some sort. They even had some sort of buns with a sweet filling. Everything looked delicious regardless of what it was.

Corona looked at Vincent as if she needed his permission before she could eat.

"Pick anything you want." He said.

She slowly nodded before going to look for something that caught her eye. It would be hard to pick something since everything they sold looked wonderful, Vincent was even considering buying something for himself and he isn't even too keen on sweets.

"Can I have this?" Corona asked and pointed into a little freezer they had plugged up. She was pointing specifically at a lemon Popsicle. She softly said to her bear, "Dad use to get these for me all the time, do you remember...?"

"We'll have two of those." Vincent said, pointing to the sweet treat.

One of the workers nodded and gave the man what he wanted while Corona dug through her purse. She held out a hand full of Gil and dropped it into the worker's hand, before Vincent could protest.

"I could have paid for that." Vincent said.

"But you paid for my books..." She stated.

"I know...never mind." Vincent said with a sigh. He handed the girl one of the Popsicles.

"I'm sorry for making you upset," She said and took the Popsicle, already starting to lick up the side of it.

"I'm not." Vincent said, "What else do you want to do while we are here?"

She looked around wanting to see all of her options, but, of course, that was impossible. It took her a moment before she pointed and said, "There's Yuffie. She's waving at you."

He sighed, heavily, "She can keep waving, I refuse to acknowledge her."

"She looks happy to see you though..." Corona said and waved back to the girl.

He sighed. "Let's just walk far away from her."

"But she's your friend," Corona said softly and looked up at him with those innocent eyes, "Would you walk away from me too?"

"Never from you; from her, yes, now let's go," He stated, dragging her away.

Corona gave the ninja one last wave before they couldn't see each other anymore. "What's the difference between me and her? Is it because there is something wrong with me?"

"No you're perfect, she's crazy." He stated.

"I'm... perfect?" Corona questioned and looked away with a light blush.

"Hmm?" Vincent said, "Never mind, let's find something else to do here."

"O...Okay..." She mumbled, feeling deeply disappointed.

"How about that booth?" he asked, pointing to one with stuffed animals.

"That looks like fun," She commented; trying to forget what he said. She followed him to the booth and began looking at some of the toys that were more secluded or were on sale because there was something wrong with stood back and glanced around in a paranoid manner, hoping no one pops up unexpectedly.

"Look, Vincent, this one is on sale because she has some scratches on her," Corona said, looking at a doll, "But I don't think there is really anything wrong with her."

"If you find her acceptable then I'll get her for you." Vincent said.

She slowly nodded and pushed some of the doll's hair out of its face. "I have such a pretty dress you could wear and I'll name you and you'll be happy. I have other dolls, so you won't be alone anymore. I know it gets so lonely being stuck in that box all the time with people poking at you and then throwing you back. You can stay with me and I'll give you a name," Corona softly said to the doll.

Vincent paid for the toy and glanced down at Corona, "What are you going to name her?"

"Um... I'll name her Chelsea," Corona said and hugged the doll close, "Yes, Chelsea is the perfect name for her, don't you think?"

Vincent nodded in approval, "Yes it is."

The green haired girl stood up on her tippy-toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much for getting her for me, Vincent."

"You're welcome." The man replied with a faint smile.

Corona placed her attention back on the doll, since it had been forever since she had gotten a new toy. Vincent just smiled at the girl and then chuckled.

"What's so funny?" She asked and looked up at him.

"Nothing," Vincent said, shaking his head, "Is there anything else you would like to do while we are here?"

"Oh, um..." The girl looked around for a moment before saying, "I don't know. Is there anything you wanna do?"

Vincent shrugged, "I think there is going to be fireworks later on tonight."

"I've seen those from my window before! They're so loud and bright!" Corona said, feeling proud she knew what he was talking about.

"Well now you will get to see them up close." Vincent said as he looked at the booths he was passing. They had a lot of games, but the girl he was with was too scared to even play one of them. Vincent couldn't figure out why, but for tonight he just wanted her to have fun, so he wouldn't press the matter.

"Oh, Vincent, look," Corona said and pointed at a game where you could win goldfish, "Fishies! I've never seen them up close before!"

"The purpose of this game is to win one." Vincent stated, "You can keep the fish you win."

That statement wiped the smile of her face; she looked away from the stand and said, "I'm no good at games..."

"Then I'll try it." Vincent said as he paid the person and picked up one of the paper nets.

Corona watched him closely in amazement as he played. He skillfully picked up the fish on his first try which amazed a few people.

Once it was moved to the safety of a plastic bag, Corona watched it swim around. "How'd you do that? It was so cool! I mean, like, seriously! It is one of the coolest things I've ever seen!"

"It's just a trick that you have to figure out. All these games here are, well...I guess the right word would be rigged." Vincent stated.

"Rigged? Oh, dear, I should know this..." The girl handed him the bag with the fish in it and her doll, so she could dig in her purse for a dictionary.

"It's a slang word." Vincent said.

Corona looked in the dictionary regardless until she found the word and read it. "I see, rigged. I won't forget it, Vincent."

"...Alright?" Vincent said, with an amused smile.

She took her doll back and said, "Can I look at the fish some more when we get home?"

Vincent nodded, "Sure."

"Can I take him out the bag and play with him?" She asked, looking at the bag he was still holding.

"No, that's not a good idea." The man stated.

"How are you supposed to play with him then?" Corona asked.

"You just watch them mostly." Vincent said, "Let's find a spot to watch fireworks."

Corona nodded and followed him around until he chose a nice spot away from the crowd, but it was still close enough so they could see. Now all they had to do was waiting.

"Do you think there will be any purple fireworks?" Corona asked, watching the sky.

"It's possible." Vincent said.

"I hope so, purple is my favorite," She said.

Vincent nodded and looked up at the night sky. The silent air filled with the popping and crackling of fireworks and the sky was filled with myriads of beautiful lights. Once one color faded in the night sky another one would appear filling it once again with the beauty of yet another color.

Corona moved closer to him with every new firework, since the noise was making her jump every time, and he was the only one that she trusted to keep her safe. The sky was quite hypnotizing though with all the shapes the fireworks made. The gentle flowers raining down in sparks and fading out before another boom went off to show a brand new picture that amazed the crowd. One just had to watch until it was over and when it was one would just stare out at the dark night sky just wishing for it to be filled with those bright colors once again.

The only problem was when the people were out of fireworks the festival was over and people packed up to go home. Of course, some would go hang out other places across town, but the older people would no doubt go home. There was a grumble through the crowd as they began standing up and talking about the show they just saw or their plans for later.

Vincent stood up and held out this hand so he could help the younger woman up, "Let's go back before it gets too late."

She grabbed her bear and doll from off the ground and then took his hand. "That was really loud. Like, super loud! Like, whoa! And there was lots of colors, did you see, Vincent? Did you see? They had purple and green and blue and silver and so many colors. Did you see it? They were so beautiful! And now the sky looks so dark without them..."

Vincent nodded with a smile, "I'm glad you liked them."

"Did you see the purple ones?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes, of course, I did." Vincent said as he led her through the crowd of people.

"And the green ones, too?" She asked.

He nodded, pushing through some people who dared stand in his way! They were now thinking twice about standing in front of Vincent Valentine.

"This one time I missed the fireworks because of the scary man. I use to watch them from my window, but I couldn't once because of him," She said as they got through the crowd.

"Well, at least, you got to see them now." Vincent said, pushing through more people. He was beginning to get irritated with the teenaged couples.

"Why are you in such a rush to get home?" Corona asked.

"I am?" He asked, confused. The man was simply walking like any man would.

"You are walking faster than I can," She said, "You have longer strides than I do..."

"Oh..." He said, now slowing down.

Corona watched her sore feet and said, "I'm sorry I'm so slow."

"No, I'm sorry, I should've slowed down." Vincent said.

"Don't be sorry, Vincent! It's my fault for being so slow," She said.

"No, it's my fault." He stated, making sure to keep his pace slow enough.

Corona kept silent for a moment before she said with a big smile, "Look, there are Skyler and... that other lady! I still don't know her name."

"Ignore them." Vincent said as he pushed through some more people and made no effort to get anywhere near that man. She looked as they passed the other couple and felt slightly upset because to her that other woman was probably the prettiest girl she'd ever seen. She certainly had a bigger bust than Corona and more of a figure too. She also looked confident with an eye catching smile and a painted up face.

The green haired girl looked down at her chest with a disappointed face and even though she had a doll in her hand, she freed three of her fingers and poked at her chest. "Vincent, are my breasts small?"

"I-...I wouldn't know..." He said, becoming confused by her sudden question.

"You can't see them, can you?" She asked with extremely upset tone as she continued to look down.

"I look at your eyes, not your chest." Vincent said, awkwardly, "But...I would say, that...considering your chest is of-um a good size."

"You can't see my chest," Corona said, "I look like a little kid...!"

"No, you don't." He said, feeling more and more awkward about this conversation, "Um-look at the moon up there!"

Corona nodded and did as she was told. "It has a face."

"Yes...It does." Vincent said, being glad another crisis was avoided.

She continued to look up, knowing he wanted her to shut up, and let him walked her home. The walk seemed longer than usual because of the awkward silence, but they eventually made it in one piece

"Thanks for taking me out..." Corona said as she slipped off her shoes near the door since her feet hurt.

"You're welcome; we can do this again sometime," Vincent stated.

The girl shrugged and said, "I guess. See you when the sun sets..."


	10. Chapter 10

**I own nothing!**

"Are you still dating Reno?" Tseng asked as he filled out paperwork with neat, precise handwriting.

Raiden sat down at the edge of his desk, "Yeah, man. Why?"

Tseng sighed and set his pen down, "I just don't think it's a good idea."

The girl looked over at the man confused, "Huh, why?"

"He's not the best person to be with, Raiden. He's probably been with or hit on every woman in this building at least once."

"O-oh...but… I mean, he seems really nice..."

Tseng looked at the girl's seemingly confused and hurt face. She looked back up at her uncle, "I should have known that no one would just like me..."

"Raiden...I'm just warning you. I don't want someone to hurt you." Tseng explained, feeling like he should have just not said anything, "But he did bring you home at a reasonable hour and was responsible...Maybe he matured?"

"Yeah," Raiden said, looking more hopeful now, "I'll be careful, Tseng-Tseng, honest."

Tseng sighed and said, "What would your father say if he knew you had a boyfriend."

Her eyes suddenly grew cold as she said, "He wouldn't say anything; he doesn't care about me."

"Don't say that-"

"No, no one has to lie about it! I'm old enough to understand now." She jumped down from the desk, "Besides, it is what it is, and I like you better."

"He's your father though, don't say-"

"It's fine." Raiden said as she walked over to hug her uncle. He sighed and let her hang onto him like she always did when she a child.

"O-oh, sorry!" A blonde woman with a bob haircut said. She had a stack of paperwork in her hand, no doubt to give to Tseng.

"Elena, come in." Tseng said and then gave Raiden a look like she better get off of him.

"But was I-"

"Gaia, no." Tseng said, "She's my niece." Elena blushed in embarrassment.

"And I was just leavin'." Raiden said as she let go of her death grip on Tseng and stood up, "See ya'." The young girl left the room, but not before winking to Tseng and mouthing that she approves of Elena.

Work was always steady with her, since no one wanted to overwork Tseng's niece. It was a privilege and a curse since the girl got bored easily. She was now sitting against a wall somewhere in ShinRa as she flipped through some pictures on her phone in boredom. She paused as it came upon a man who looked much like Tseng except his hair was put in a long braid and he had some bangs to frame his face, and, of course, those thin rimmed silver glasses.

She sighed studying the picture of the man. Her face did not show any sign of happiness as looked at his features and tried to compare them to her own. His distant and cold expression seemed to show through and it looked as if he was looking right through whoever took the picture. Raiden shut the phone quickly, becoming mad and huffed sat the phone on the ground beside her. Yes, she much preferred her uncle over that man any day.

"What's the matter, yo?" Reno asked, appearing behind her. He had been on his way to give a blueprint of a building to his companion Rude, but seeing his new lady seemed more important.

"Nothing." The girl stood up, "What's that?"

"Just some blueprints for a building that needs blowing up, yo," Reno stated.

Raiden thought for a moment as she looked at the rolled up piece of paper, "I wanna watch, I've never seen anything blow up before."

"Well, we have to plan it first, yo," Reno said in a matter-of-fact tone, "We need to find the weakest point in the building and plant the explosives."

"Oh," The girl said with a nod, "But after you do that you will explode it and make it go up in flames and all that good stuff, right?"

The red head chuckled and said, "Of course, yo, but I have to get all this technical stuff out the way."

"Seems complicated," Raiden sighed, "and sounds like a lot of math..."

"It gets easier after you do it for so long, yo." He said.

"But still..." She frowned thinking of how much she didn't like math.

"Don't worry, yo," He said, "You can just watch it happen."

"Alright," She said, "Who do ya' have to take that to?"

"My good, bald pale, Rude," Reno said with a smirk.

"I don't think I've met him yet." Raiden said, thinking about all the people she had seen around the company.

"If you rub his head it'll give you good luck, yo." Reno lied.

"Seriously?" She asked, looking skeptical.

"Yeah, man," He said, "I'll take you to meet him if you want, yo."

"I guess I got nothing better to do." She said, "Lead the way."

Reno nodded and led her to Rude's office where the bald headed, tan man sat patiently. His suit fit him well, but it made the sun glasses look out of place a bit, but after people got over that, they just assumed he was a fan of _Men in Black._ Raiden just looked at the man curiously. Tseng had talked about him before, she knew from what he had said that he was a good employee to say the least.

"Yo, Rude, this is Raiden," Reno said as he sat the blueprint on the man's desk, "She's gonna watch us blow the building."

"Hey." Raiden said with a polite smile.

"Rubbing my head isn't lucky. Reno is just an idiot." Rude said right off the bat.

"Ugh, I knew it sounded sketchy." Raiden said and then looked up Reno, crossed her arms, and gave him a look that was hard to tell if she was actually mad.

Reno snapped his fingers at the girl as he made it look like he was shooting her. "Have I ever told you how much I love you, yo?"

She laughed slightly and said, "You know, I'm not even mad."

"Oh good," Reno said with a sigh of relief since he always had bad luck with women.

"Never mind, I am now." She said.

"Baby, no!" The red head shouted in a desperate tone.

Raiden covered her mouth quickly since she was now laughing. "Gaia, Reno, don't believe me!" She exclaimed in between laughs.

"She must be a compulsive liar." Rude said, earning a nod in agreement from the other male.

Raiden slowed down her laughing some, "Sorry."

"It's fine, yo," Reno said as he leaned over Rude's desk since the man had unraveled the blueprint and it was time to get serious with equations. The girl watched patiently as they began writing down and discussing plans. It reminded her of the meetings Tseng made her go to on occasion since she didn't understand anything, but had a slight interest in wanting to know at least what some things meant.

"Okay, so we'll do this tomorrow, yo," Reno said just as they finished up.

Raiden looked down at all their plans and nothing made sense to her. She was confusing herself even more just by trying to figure it out. The men knew what they were talking about though, so all they had to do was make the explosive. That part seemed even more confusing. All those wires looked like they were just going random places to her. It was just so complex. She sighed, she would probably would never learn how to do something like make bombs. But what she did know was how to enjoy explosions.

"Good job." She said with a nod of approval as she glanced one last time at the confusing numbers and gibberish.

"Thanks," Rude said and fixed his sunglasses with his index finger.

"Thank you, yo," Reno said as he scribbled down a correction in a calculation.

"You guys know a lot about bombs." Raiden commented.

"That's our job, yo," Reno said.

"Tseng just does tons of paperwork," She said, "nothing as cool as this...then again Tseng is Tseng."

Reno nodded and said, "You have to work hard to get where we are, yo."

"Or assassinate those higher than you." Raiden stated, thinking, "Uncle did that...but- wait what am I talking about I am not suppose to know that, hehehe..." She began stepping backwards towards the door.

"Uh..." Both of the men looked up at her strangely.

"Later." The girl said as she turned heel and walked out of the room. She walked through the hallways trying to remember not to let things slip out like that. She sighed until someone came up to her and held out a stack of files, "Take this to the science department now."

"Uh, alright." Raiden said, looking down at the files.

"Well, hurry up, don't get lazy just because you are now close with the first and second commands of the Turks." The man hissed as he walked off. Raiden sighed and turned around so she could drop off these files.

She did her best to get the files to the department that smelt heavily of cleaning products. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she set the files down on a lab table. No one seemed to be here, so her curiosity was peaked.

"Hmm...let's see what we got here, medical files are the same as science files right?" She said to herself. Raiden didn't know why, but her attention was drawn to a certain cabinet next to this one desk across the room. It looked rather old, but still she just had to look in it. The girl looked around carefully out in the hallway before walking across the room. She bent down in front of the cabinet and opened up one of the drawers.

"Ugh, smells like mold." Raiden covered her nose with the sleeve of her jacket and ran her fingers across the tips of the yellow, mildewed files until one she noticed two of them were in the same slot. This bothered here since her dad would make her organize his medical charts as a punishment and this was unacceptable for these files to be together like this.

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice boomed behind her.

"Sorry!" She exclaimed as she shut the filing cabinet and ran out of the place before she could even see who is was. Her heart was beating a mile-a-minute as she ran down the hall before she felt like she was safe enough to stop in an empty hallway. She had grabbed those files by mistake and now that she had them, what was she to do other than look?

Raiden went into a supply closet and plopped down on the floor with both files in front of her. One was more faded and old but the other looked a little newer, but still had a kiss of age to it.

"The name on it is...A-smug...D-E-N." Raiden mumbled and then opened it, A picture instantly popped out at her.

"Oh..Gaia." Her eyes were wide as they skimmed through the file.

_Name: Raiden Todoroki_

_D.O.B: September 9th_

_Gender: Female, human._

_Hair: Brown_

_Eyes: blue_

_Blood type: O-_

"N-no." She mumbled as she bit her lip, "T-this isn't me..." She gulped and with shaky hands read on noticing an all familiar hand-writing mixed with some she didn't recognize.

_Subject was infused with Thundura class S materia. She appears stable, but horribly weak. Will have to increase her body's threshold for the lighting. _

Her eyes stung it was her own dad's handwriting for sure.

_She seems to be improving. Side effects are only a low tolerance to metal objects. Her powers are increased when water is added. Should keep metal objects away from her for now. Diet needs to be improved she useless to us if she is weak._

Raiden read on, eyes now full of tears, now a new handwriting was introduced.

_Subject seems to have gain a tolerance from lighting spells and electricity. She can with stand and bend the lighting to her own will, but still fails to produce her own. Seems to be another failure-_

"I can't take this!" she screamed as she threw the file against the wall making photos of her younger self and papers fly everywhere. Cold silence is what met her, so she just went on to the next file like this would make her feel better. The subject's name had been wiped off the file completely, but when she opened it up, she could see the name and all other information on the off-white paper. 

_Name: Corona Ajram Dragon  
>Date of Birth: April 1<br>Gender: F  
>Eyes: Brown<br>Hair: Brown  
>Blood Type: A<br>Age: 18_

_Week 1: The subject seems weak, but that is too be expected from her terrible health. She doesn't seem to struggle when taking any of the medicine supplied to her._

_Week 2: Her health has only worsened and we'll soon have to move Shion's genes. Hopefully she won't be a disappointment like the other subject. _

_Week 3: Shion doesn't seem to be acting kindly on the girl's body. We will move some Protomateria into her body to help her control Shion._

And it just kept going on and on like this with short little sentences for each week until it became a year. Pictures had made this file somewhat fat since the scientist that had done this wanted to make sure and get plenty of them. It made her want to read more about this person, so she decided to keep this file, and, of course, her own.

Raiden sniffled and slowly gathered up her own scattered file and the other one she has recently required. Her eyes still burned when she opened up the door and stumped out of the supply closet covered in some dust and wiping off her tear stained cheeks with her sleeve. She was so confused and angry at so many people.

At least now she would have some new knowledge and, hell, maybe she could even find this girl. She should have the right to know and if she checked good enough she was sure to find an address somewhere. But what if the person was dead? The file looked pretty old. Raiden sighed and went to find her Uncle, so she could prove just how much her dad hated her.

When she opened the door she saw his fan club making him try new foods that they thought he would love. She'd have to make them leave.

"Piss off everyone!" She hissed and from the look on her face she meant business. The girls scattered and ran out the door letting Tseng breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Raiden." He uncle said seeming glad to see her until he noticed her glazed over eyes, "Raiden..."

She slapped the file on his desk making the smell of molded paper rise up in the room, "W-Why didn't you tell me?"

The man flipped through the file with a sober expression, "...That's because I already knew."

"Y-You said yo-you would protect me uncle." She stammered out, fresh tears falling.

"I know..." Tseng said as one of his fingers traced a picture of her in a fragile looking state. He felt a pang of guilt.

"I-I told you he hated me." Raiden mumbled, feeling dizzy and weak from all this knowledge.

"I'm sorry..." The dark haired man said softly, meaning what he said.

The girl shook her head and fell to her knees. Her hands balled up into fist as she used them to support herself up.

"Raiden..." Tseng said, as he stood up and then bent down beside her. He helped her up and pulled her into a hug. "I never knew what happened to you until it was too late. It was unauthorized what they did...It wasn't supposed to happen. They went behind ShinRa to do all these experiments and they hide it until it was too late."

Raiden shook her head weakly and force a smile as she said, "It is what is is, huh, Tseng..."

He sighed and said, "Yeah...it truly is."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey! Things are starting to get a bit more intense, right? Well, don't worry because in the later chapters Corona's life pretty much simmers down. I don't own **_**Final Fantasy**_** or **_**Candy Land**_**. Also, please review.**

It was a rather curious day in Corona's house for the fact she didn't leave her room at all yet and it had been long after sun set. Being the reasonable man he was, Vincent just thought she had slept in since she was still tired from the festival, but as more time passed the less sense that made. It wasn't until he heard soft giggling from in her room did he expect something.

Vincent walked down the hallway and knocked on her door to see just what was going on. It took a moment before Corona opened the door with a clearly thrown together outfit and messy hair. "Yes?" She wiped her face on her shirt sleeve and check to see if she had gotten all the smudge lip stick off her face.

"Who's in there?" He asked.

"Me and my dolls," She said, a little too fast, "We're watching a movie, is that a problem?"

"Who's in there?" He asked again.

"N-No one! I'm busy! Go away!" She said in a panicky voice and quickly shut the door. The man's foot caught it just before it could shut completely. He forced open the door and scanned the room quickly. He could easily see a sleeping Skyler in her bed with his clothes thrown about. "Go away! I'm busy!" She said, trying to shove the man out.

"Fine." Vincent hissed. He turned around clearly angry and upset.

The girl shut the door softly and went back to Skyler for some much needed love, which would leave the other man alone. Vincent was fed, went past the living room, and stormed out the door. He would go back to his own house. If she wanted an abusive boyfriend to which he tried to save her from then so be it.

Hell, why did he bother? So what if he could hear her asking him to stay not even ten minutes later? That wasn't his problem anymore. He didn't need to go to her when her boyfriend pushed her to the ground to get her to stay away from him. It wasn't like Vincent Valentine had to care about someone like _her._ She should have known better in the first place. She should have known no one was going to stick around for her.

She should have known girls like her are meant to be alone, since they just don't seem to learn. She was like every other stupid, worthless girl and Vincent didn't need to be with someone like that. Besides, she was too naive to realize that's why everyone left her in the first place. So, maybe if she got hit around a few more times she'd learn. Maybe someone like Skyler was just perfect for her. Then again...he was worried, but why? What was she to him? She already had a boyfriend, right?

But that boy had two girlfriends, so maybe if he stole Corona Skyler wouldn't even notice. He didn't seem to care at all about her anyway. That was no way to treat a lady at all. She needed someone like Vincent, but what was he thinking? Vincent's mind was now all confused and he had mixed emotions about everything. He couldn't think straight with all that yelling and slamming of things next door.

It seemed like as soon as he thought that everything became silent, a door slammed, footsteps disappeared down the street, and then silence again. It seemed appropriate for the night time. He could rest easy now without all that ruckus.

But it seemed like he said that too soon since a soft knocking came on his door and like stated earlier in the story, he was a man who had to answer doors that were being knocked on. It was no surprise for him to see Corona, but she had a board game in her hands. "I'm sorry... Do you wanna play?"

Vincent looked at her for a few moments and sighed, "Fine, come in."

She smiled excitedly, since this was her first time in his house. She sat on the floor in his living room and sat the game on his coffee table. "This game is really fun. Dad and I played this all the time when he was alive. I think you'll be good at it."

"We'll see." He said as he sat down on the couch.

She opened the box for the game of _Candy Land _and lined everything up perfectly on the board, and then she pointed at the pieces as she said the colors, "You can be blue or green or yellow or red. I only have four ginger men pieces, but you can choose first."

"I'll be red..." Vincent said, awkwardly picking up his piece.

"That's a good choice," Corona said, picked up the green piece, and placed it on the board, "You go first. All you gotta do is draw a card and move forward to that color. Sometimes you'll have two colors, so you have to go past that color twice... Oh, and if you get one of these little pictures," she pointed to a special square on the board, "You have to go there no matter what. And if you land in _Licorice Forest_ you miss a turn."

Vincent nodded, "Simple enough."

Corona watched and played fair, not that you can really cheat at _Candy Land_. She convinced him to keep playing until they had a tie of five to five. "One more time, Vincent, please," She said, "Just one more..."

The man sighed, "Fine, but this is the last time, alright?"

"Thank you! Thank you, Vincent!" She said and readied the board for a new game. He sighed and shook his head. This game was so simple and he was sure it was mostly based on luck, but she insisted on playing it.

She looked up at him, then back at the cards she was shuffling, and asked, "Do you not like this game, Vincent?"

"I liked it the first few times." Vincent admitted, "But this is the eleventh time..."

"It's the only game I have," She said in apologetic tone, "Any other board games are just too dangerous..."

"Well...we will have to purchase some more. I would rather not go to _Licorice Forest _again." Vincent said

Corona giggled and softly said, "All the other ones are too dangerous, Vincent. I'm not allowed to play them."

"We need to at least find another one." Vincent said.

She kept her eyes down because disobeying her father was something she wasn't willing to do since she was sure he wouldn't lie to her. "They're too dangerous. I'll get hurt..." She whispered.

Vincent sighed, "Alright..."

"Are you still mad at me?" Corona asked as she took a card from the stack.

"I guess there is no reason to be mad..." Vincent said.

"R-Really?" She asked, perking up slightly.

"You were just with your boyfriend..." He stated, "Becoming mad at something like that would be idiotic."

"So you're not mad?" She asked just to make sure.

"There is no logical reason for me to be." Vincent said.

"And I can still see Skyler?" She asked timidly, looked at the board, and became upset since the game was ending much too fast for her liking.

"...If that's what you want." The man said, reluctantly.

Her green eyes lit up and she didn't mind as much when the game was over. "He said if I was good he'd marry me," She said, held out her foot, and showed him an ankle bracelet, "He said so. He got me an anklet and said he'd marry me as long as I stayed out the way."

"I see..." Vincent said as he looked back at the board.

"Isn't that great?" She said with a big smile as she set her foot back down. "I can be a good girl, Vincent. I think he'll marry me."

"Mhmm," Vincent said with a nod to show he was listening.

"Oh, look, you won again," She said and pointed at his piece that made it to the _Candy Kingdom_, "You're good at this game."

"It was just by chance." He stated.

Corona looked up at him like a child who was just informed that most dreams don't come true. "Chance?"

"Luck," He said

"B-But dad said the cards have to like you," She said as she turned her gaze down to the game.

"...Well maybe that is part of it." Vincent said, not wanting to crush her dreams.

She put the pieces up and said, "I don't like this game anymore. I'm just gonna play with my dolls from now on."

Vincent nodded, "If that's what you want..."

"Thanks for playing with me..." She said as she stood up and picked up her game.

"Welcome." The man replied.

"I better go and take my medicine before it gets too late," Corona said softly and dragged her feet to the door, "Thanks for letting me come inside. I'll see you around, I guess."

"Alright." Vincent said, "Come by anytime."

"I won't," She said, leaving it at that, before she opened the door and began to walk back home. Vincent sighed and picked up a book. It was going to be another quiet night for sure.


	12. Chapter 12

**Yay for Raiden! I still don't own **_**Final Fantasy.**_** Please review!**

Raiden sighed as she followed Reno and Rude to the site where they would explode the building. She didn't know why, but she was getting a sick feeling and felt uneasy about everything now that it was going to happen. However, the two men looked excited as they set the bombs up and readied for the explosion.

The girl sat down at the spot she was told to that was marked as a "safe distance," whatever that was. Any distance near an exploding building seemed risky. When the men were ready to blow that mo' fo' up, they came running out the old building to join her in the safe zone.

"Would you like to do the honors, yo?" Reno asked and held out a remote that would set the bomb off. He put his goggles on, so no dust from the building would get in his eyes and Rude did the same regardless of his sunglasses.

"Possibly," She said as she took the remote hesitantly.

The men plugged their ears with their fingers and waited. The girl pushed the button causing a chain reaction of giant explosions making dust and fire rise in the air in all its fury. Raiden's eyes widened realizing she had in fact heard that noise before. The sound of crumbling brick crashing to the ground was all too familiar. Her mind was racing and going through all her memories of that damned day she had heard it. Raiden shuddered and dropped the remote when the smell of burning wood met her nose. She didn't like this; she didn't like it at all. This was making all those memories of people screaming in horror and that gross feeling of warm blood when it got on you. Memories like that needed to be pushed away, but now the flood gates were open and she had to deal with it.

She felt sick as the last of the building crumbled down into ash, soot, and pieces of blackened brick. Raiden felt like she couldn't breathe and was light-headed from all that was happening.

The two men gave each other a high five for a day's good work and seemed happy with their work. Raiden could only stand there absent-mindedly staring at the debris. She realized she was shaking, so she crossed her arms quickly and tried to make her mind think of other things as she walked away from the group.

"Hey, Raiden," Reno called out as he caught up with her, "Where you going, yo?"

"I don't know." She said, as she crossed her arms tighter to hide the shaking better, "Smoke makes me sick..."

"Well, Rude and I were going to the bar since our work for the day is done, yo," He said, "Do you wanna come?"

"Uh, I guess..." Raiden replied still trying to calm herself down, "But I don't like alcohol much."

"Just a little sip will calm your nerves, yo," He said, "You look like you are about to pass out."

"I do?" she asked looking embarrassed.

"Yeah, but Rude and I will get you all fixed up, yo," Reno said and wrapped his arm around her to lead her to the bar. The girl sighed and looked at the ground the whole way there. It seemed that you arrived at places faster when you stare at your own feet because before she knew it they had arrived.

The bar wasn't that bad and the person who owned it made sure to keep all natural light out. The dark atmosphere made the girl feel a little better but she wasn't use to all the people smoking and smell of booze. Honestly, she was certain she had probably only been in one or two bars in her life and not because she wanted to. Raiden sat down at a table and looked around curiously as she tried to take in her new surroundings.

"Do you want something to drink, yo? I'm buyin'," Reno said.

"I'll try something I guess." She said as she glanced down at one of her hands to see if she stopped shaking.

Reno ordered her something that was a bit light and fruitier, since she had said she didn't drink much. Rude and he hit the bottle hard though when they drank, so there was no holding back. Raiden was sipping on her drink skeptical of if she liked it while she watched Reno and Rude down theirs and then get another glass.

"Are you guys sure you should be drinking that much?" Raiden asked once the number of drinks started to get ridiculous.

"Y-Yus," Reno said with a hiccup, that Rude copied before taking another drink.

"You're drunk." She stated, nonchalantly, "Ya both are."

"Noooo, we're," Reno hiccuped and finished with a slurred, "What?"

"Yep, Exactly." Raiden said with a slight smile.

Reno said something that was slurred, but it sure made Rude laugh hard.

The girl sighed, finding this to be boring now. They weren't as funny as some of the people she had seen drunk before. Raiden finished up her glass and sat it down with a soft thud. She glanced around the room to see if the people she had seen when she walked in were still there. Of course, a few of them when gone since they had been in here for who knows how long.

There wasn't much to being at a bar if you weren't drunk or drinking though. She wanted to get up and go somewhere, anywhere as long as it meant not sitting there idly.

"I guess I'll see you guys later." Raiden said with a yawn as she stood up.

The men just gave her a happy wave goodbye. Raiden saluted, then walked out of the bar with no plan on where she was going and no way of knowing where she was. She would just simply start walking and hope she doesn't get jumped, mugged, or lost even more lost. Every building was like a copy of the one before it and she felt like she was walking in circles. She was certainly lost, but now it felt like she was in a more residential place than a city (which was better than feeling like you were trapped in a place full of drunks and shady characters).

"Oh man, Tseng is gonna kill me." She mumbled as she took out her phone to call him for she was lost.

"...It's dead..." She said in disbelief, staring at the black screen. Raiden laughed nervously and began to panic some. She was honestly scared to be alone sometimes and this was one of the times. She knew she needed to ask for help so she walked down the street to find a house that didn't look like a creeper owned it. She walked up to a random one and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" A man with long black hair and piercing red eyes asked looking down at the young girl.

"Uh...wrong house." Raiden mumbled as she walked away quickly. The man sighed and shut the door mumbling something about kids these days.

"Well, Raiden. You certainly pick the luck of the draw. Good job!" She sighed and paused as she came up upon the neighboring house.

"Second time's the charm." Raiden said with a shrug as she walked through the gate. A garden was laid out in front of her, but she didn't see the front door anywhere. The young girl sighed and walked around aimlessly hoping to find the door. She heard a window slide open and a girl with green hair and blue eyes waved at her, but didn't say anything.

Raiden walked over to the window almost tripping over her own feet, "H-hey."

"Hello, I'm Corona Dragon," The girl said with a smile, "You almost fell. I own this house. Did you see my neighbor? I bet he scared you. What's your name? I'm Corona Dragon."

Raiden's eyes widened, that name... but she looked so young, "Umm, I'm Raiden. Raiden Todoroki..."

"Are you lost? The man next door is really good at directions," Corona said with a giggle, "I'm sure he'd help you if you were lost."

"Um, yeah, I am." Raiden said, looking embarrassed, "Can I borrow your phone. Mine died and I can just call my uncle to pick me up..."

"One second," The girl said and then left into the darkness of her house. A few moments later she returned with a cell phone and placed it in the other girl's palm. "Now, don't run off with it, okay? And after you make this call, you need to go. I shouldn't be out at this time. It is too dangerous."

"Thanks." Raiden said as she quickly dialed her Uncle's number. Once he picked up she switched her language over and began speaking in Wutain. The words sounded so calm and gentle as they rolled off her tongue at a rapid pace. She finished up her call and handed it back to the woman, "Uh, thanks again."

"I was learning Wutain for a time," Corona said with a smile, "It was hard, but I remember most of what I learned. You're welcome by the way. And if you see my neighbor trying to come over... tell him I'm sleeping, okay?"

She nodded, "Okay, will do..."

"Thank you, have a nice day," Corona said before shutting her window and closing to curtains. Raiden sighed, wishing she could have just straight out said she had her file, but that would be too blunt.

"Child," A man said, motioning for Raiden to walk over to him. It was the same one from next door.

"She's sleeping." Raiden replied, quickly. The man sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I bet she is," He said, "Your uncle called me and wanted me to watch you until he came to pick you up."

"Did he?" She asked, "That seems kinda sketchy."

He sighed, "His name is Tseng. You can trust me."

"...Uh, alright." The girl said, thinking this cleared up that matter. The red eyed man held out his hand and helped her over the fence and into his yard. It was like the neighbors in this place were best friends, but maybe it was just those two.

Raiden just looked curiously at the man and asked, "What's your name?"

"Vincent Valentine."

"Nice name, I'm Raiden."

"...That's a boy's name."

She blushed, "N-nah uh."

"It is; it means lightning and thunder." Vincent stated, eyeing her closely. She looked female to him despite such a name.

"Tell me something I don't know." Raiden sighed.

"Alright, your Uncle is here right now."

"W-What that fast!"

He nodded, "He used a car." Sure enough Tseng walked out of his car.

"Thank you Mister Valentine, sorry if she bothered you." Tseng began pulling her to the car.

"It's fine." Vincent said, already walking to his house.

"You have some explaining to do." Tseng stated, pushing her into the car.

"I love you!" She exclaimed, knowing she was in deep trouble.


	13. Chapter 13

**Oh lawd, I do not own **_**Final Fantasy!**_

The file looked so old and aged, but Raiden was sure that it was her. It had to be, she even had pictures so prove it. It was so old though. What was she going to do about it though? She couldn't go up to that house and be like _"I got a file from your past, cool, huh?"_

No, that was too crazy. She sighed and laid her head in her hands. This was stressful in itself. Did she even have to give this girl an old file? No, but she felt it was right. Reading her own made her mad, but still she was glad she did. How would this girl feel about stranger having a file that held her past? Probably not too happy.

Raiden shoved the files in her bag and sighed again. She was stilling thinking about yesterday. The explosions; the files; the girl; everything.

It seemed so short, but there was just so much for her to think about.

"Here you go ma'am." A woman said, handing her a bag full of Tseng's dry cleaning

"Thanks." Raiden said as she grabbed it with one hand and her own bag with the other. She stepped out into the crowded streets, rushing to get back to her work. She bumped into a very unpleasant person though! "Watch where the hell you're going!" A voice hissed as the girl fell to the ground.

"S-sorry." Raiden said as she scrambled to grab her bags. She stood up and smiled politely.

The man's eyes widened, "You're that halfie from the other day!"

"Uh-uhhh." She stammered out backing up slowly.

"Get back here!" He yelled, pulling her arm back towards him. She stumbled forward and he shoved her against the wall not a second later, leaving her head aching and her feeling dizzy.

"I hate people like you." He slapped her face hard making her bite her tongue and blood trickled out of the corners of her lips.

"St-"

"Shut up!" The man shoved her to the ground and she fell on her hands, scraping her soft flesh against the sidewalk. He kicked her side, making her let out a soft cry in pain, hearing the familiar cracking sound that was her ribs. She slumped to the ground holding her sides as tears feel down her face mixing with blood.

Raiden began speaking in broken Wutain, switching languages as she mumbled in pain. It seemed to anger the man who kicked her again cutting her forehead. She felt the warm blood trickled down her face and began blinking rapidly as the red mixed with her sight. The red began

fading to black slowly and a thought flashed across her mind: _Will I wake up?_

**Oh_Gaia_Help_Us_!**

"Gaia, Corona, don't you ever shut up?" Skyler yelled at the top of his lungs, which made the girl jump.

"I-I just wanted to play…" Corona said in an apologetic tone as she slowly backed out the room and then went to her room to put the game back. She sat on her bed, looked at her little anklet, and smiled softly. This was better than being alone.

She needed someone even if they hit her. She could deal with the bruises as long as she was being loved. That's all she ever really wanted. It was so far out her reach though, no one stayed with her and they couldn't even if they wanted to. Death was something that she would watch happen, but she could never partake in it now. That sweet slumber was far out of her reach. All she could do was pretend.

The girl closed her tired eyes for a moment and when they were open Skyler was in front of her with crossed arms. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm sitting on my bed," She said in her soft, sweet voice which got her hit. Her face stung, but she still smiled for him.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked, feeling anger rise up in him. How could she just sit there and act like what he was doing wasn't a big deal? It was like she didn't care! He wanted to see her react a little! But even when he punched her, she just smiled that cute little girl smile of hers.

It was just too much! Anyone else would have done something by now, but she just sat there and took it. Skyler grabbed her by the arm, pulled her off the bed, and threw her to the ground. "Why don't you fucking defend yourself?" He shouted.

"Because I love you," She said softly and looked up at him, with soft eyes to match, like what he was doing was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her. He bit his lip and began shaking in rage from how she was acting. He grabbed her brush from off her wooden dresser, deciding this would have to do, held her down, and began beating her with it.

Every time it hit her face there was an echo through the whole house, but still she never blamed him. She told herself that she deserved it and what Skyler was doing was a favor. When he slapped the brush against the side of her throat she began to gasp, because for a second it felt like she couldn't breathe. This was just the reaction he wanted though, yet that one thing didn't seem to ease him at all. He wanted more from her to make up for the past few years.

So, after removing the clutch on her shirt, he stood up and looked down at her. What else could he do? Something to make her really scream. Ah, the perfect idea came in his mind, since not only would it make her scream, but it would leave her scarred. He pulled her up to the ground, pulled out his knife, and cut open her shirt, barely missing her face when the knife shot up.

No, Skyler wasn't going to rape her, instead he was going to see what would happen if he threw the boiling water on the stove on her body. This was the only time he had actually seen the girl try to lash out against him and it increased when he brought her into the kitchen against her screamed pleas. To make sure she didn't try to leave he took some of the cloth on her shirt, tied up her arms tight, and for extra measure he took the chain from his pants and put that around the cloth.

He poured a bit of the boiling water into a cup and threw it on her stomach, causing for her to scream bloody murder and try to escape him, while still wanting to think of an excuse on why he was doing this. The scream could be heard throughout the neighborhood, and it wasn't long before she could hear Vincent beating on the door to get in.

"You ready for round two?" Skyler asked and this time just threw the rest of the water on her. She tilted her head forward so it missed most of her face except when it slid down the sides, down her cheeks, and into her lap. This just felt just as bad since it was hitting more delicate skin and if it had been possible she would have screamed louder.

The sound of a wood being broken filled the house and footsteps ran down the hallway

"Corona!" Vincent yelled as he looked in every room he passed by for her.

The girl wanted to go to him, but she was trapped and in too much pain, so all she could do was sob and apologize for nothing. Sklyer began making his hasty escape, so he wouldn't be hit.

"Corona!" Vincent yelled again, as he rushed into the kitchen where she was tied up near the stove with her flesh a dark red color as it kept heating up. While she was there, the person guilty of this crime was slipping out the back door.

"I'll deal with you later!" He yelled at the man and then proceeded to untie the girl.

Corona was crying from the pain since her skin felt like it was going tear and peel right off.

"I'm sorry." Vincent said as he gently picked her up.

She leaned into his chest and let out a muffled scream as a whole new set of tears broke out in her eyes.

"Sh, I'll get you help...just…just hold on." He said as he walked swiftly through the house and out the door. The breeze that was hitting her burnt skin felt nice, but hurt like hell all at the same time. Vincent walked at a fast pace so he wouldn't hurt her as much. He cursed Skyler under his breath as he looked around for a hospital.

He was lucky that Midgar was known for having a medical crisis often, since within fifteen minutes at his quick pace they were at a small hospital that took her as soon as they saw the damage. There apparently had been another girl taken into today that Corona would be sharing a room with, since like it was stated, this was a small hospital.

One doctor got her patched up quickly and then sent the nurses to wheel Corona into the room. The curtains were close around one of the beds as a doctor stood nearby the closed curtains looking at the girl's chart.

He looked up at one of the nurses and adjusted his thin silver glasses, "Restrict this patient's diet. That's an order." With that he sat the chart down and sighed.

"Yes, doctor!" A nurse said as she helped Corona into the other bed. The man walked out of the room just as Vincent walked in to see Corona.

The burnt girl couldn't bring herself to look at him though, since her skin was in such terrible condition and while she knew Shion would fix her up right, she still was ashamed. "I'm sorry..." She said in a hoarse voice, since all the screaming from before had left her throat sore.

"It's fine," Vincent said as he lightly touched her face, "Just rest."

"I don't think anyone is gonna love me now..." She said, but tried to smile for him regardless of her pain.

"Don't be silly." Vincent said, but hesitated before adding,"...I do."

A fresh set of tears set in her eyes. "I-I'm so sorry, Vincent."

He shushed her, "It's fine, just focus on getting better now."

"What about your fish...?" She asked, having that same childish look in her eyes.

"Don't worry about that..." Vincent said, softly.

She kept her face turned down so he wouldn't see the burn mark and softly said, "I'm so tired, Vincent..."

"I know." He said and then sat in a chair by her bed, "Go to sleep; I'll be right here."

"I'm really sorry again, Vincent. I should have listened to you..." She said and slowly shut her eyes, but was careful not to move anymore than that.

"...It's not your fault." The man mumbled as he watched her drift into a deep sleep. The skin on her face looked like it had been burnt badly, but-like when he had a hole made in his stomach-the wounds seemed to be healing quickly from the demon inside of her. There was nothing it could do about some of the scars that would be left behind though. Vincent would give Skyler hell for doing that to her, but would he really dare show his face around after doing that to her?

Not even she was that dumb to go back after this. She probably wouldn't be the same after this though, when it came to people touching her or boiling water, especially. It made Vincent burn with rage thinking about what all he had caused by doing this to her. And why did he even do that? It would have just been better to have killed her by this point, since she felt like she was dead anyway.

The man sighed and leaned back in the chair. He stared at the ceiling and then shut his soft red eyes making everything turn to darkness.

He could hear the doctor talk to the nurse about the other patient when he entered the room.

"…Reckless, that is what I have to deal with." The doctor said. He sighed and turned away to pick up Corona's chart.

"Severe burns; that should heal right away." The man closed the chart, and checked the burn mark on her face. He could see it was already healing. The burns on her arms weren't healing nearly as fast though.

"She'll be out of here in a few days." He said to his nurse.  
>"But those bur-"<p>

"Don't doubt me." He stated as he walked past her.

All the nurse could do was write down what he said, send the sleeping girl a sympathetic glance, and then move on. The nurse moved to the other bed and checked on the other sleeping girl. She mumbled something about how strict the doctor was before closing the curtains and walking out the door. Vincent sighed, the room was silent again.

There wasn't much to this two per hospital rooms thing, but with the curtains closed it would peak Corona's interest who was on the other side when she woke up. Especially since the way the curtains were closed made her wonder what happened to that person. Was it a boy or a girl? Why were they here? Were they worse off than Corona? It seemed better for her to think that the person behind that curtain was hurt by their boyfriend too, since that way they could have conversations about their beatings.

A sharp moan of pain was then heard behind the curtains followed by a female's voice saying, "Oh great..." It seemed whoever it was was now waking up and just now realizing about their current state. But what was Vincent to do about this? He just simply shrugged it off. It wasn't his problem.

However, with a nurse coming in and out to check on the girl and giving her different things she need according to the doctor it held a threat for making Corona wake up from her much needed rest when she did she heard the other girl arguing.

The green haired girl looked over at the curtain with tired eyes and yawned. "Why are they fighting?" She asked to anyone who would answer.

The nurse sighed, "She is complaining about the doctor not letting her eat."

"If she's hungry," Corona said softly, "I can give you Gil to get her food."

"No, it's doctor's orders she can't eat." The nurse explained.

"Well, this is Corona's orders and I say she can," The injured girl said stubbornly.

"I agree with her!" The other girl stated

The nurse sighed, "Orders are orders. All you are allowed to have is water and pain medicine." The other girl grumbled and then the nurse pulled back the curtains, "You need sun, dear. It will cheer you up."

"Whatever..." The girl mumbled as she looked at the ceiling. She had bandages wrapped around her forehead and hands that were speckled with blood and a few scratches on her face, which under closer inspection looked familiar. She was lying down, holding her ribs that were recently broken as she gritted her teeth just hoping the pain medicine would kick in soon.

Corona looked at the girl and then turned away, since she didn't want anyone to see the scar she had on her face that continued down her neck, although, no one could see that since there were bandages around her throat.

"...The doctor said if you complained too much I had to take away your pain medicine too...so, please, be quiet about the matter of food." The nurse said in an almost guilty sounding voice.

"Alright..." The girl sighed.

The nurse did her sympathetic smile and then left the two girls and Vincent in the room by themselves. An awkward silence was soon to follow and the one girl was still staring at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face.

"Do you need anything?" Vincent asked Corona.

"Can I see how bad I look?" She asked, looking at the blank wall.

"...I don't know if they have a mirror around here." Vincent said.

"Can you tell me then...?" She asked softly.

"You look fine...you just have a few burn marks on you, that is all." Vincent said.

"...Where?" She asked.

"Where ever you are bandaged I am assuming." Vincent stated.

"Everywhere?" She said, not really wanting to hear the answer, since she already knew.

He nodded and then looked out the window.

Corona kept her eyes low, not wanting anyone to see her. Being alone seemed fitting for her when she looked how she did, at least that's what she thought. Vincent stayed quiet after that, feeling a sense of guilt about what had happened to her. It seemed the whole room went back to that sickening silence that would drive one insane if left in it.

They were saved by the same perky nurse coming in to give Corona some medicine for pain and the doctor said to change the bandages since sitting with old burn cream on for so long didn't seem like a good idea.

"Vincent, can you go away?" The girl asked, since having him see her in a hospital was embarrassing enough.

"Um, sure," The man said as he got up to walk off.

The other girl watched him leave with a weird expression on her face.

When he was gone the nurse began changing the bandages; She started with the legs, then the arm, and when she got to the front of her body she was doing fine until the back. That's when the nurse almost screamed, because the doctor had sent her to clean the bandages he had forgotten that he was the one who needed to do it for on her back were stitches that were opening which made little bones poke up.

"What's going on in here?" The doctor asked as he opened up the door and then saw the nurse's frightened face.

"My wings are coming out again," The girl in the bed said in a frightened voice, remembering what happened when she had Shion's wings under his care.

"I'll handle this." the doctor said and then ordered the nurse out of the room.

"Please, don't tear them out again," She said in a pleading voice, "I've been good! I promise I've been good!"

"I don't think there is another way." The man stated.

"B-But can't I keep them?" Corona asked, ready to cry even though the pain hadn't even started yet.

"They would be useless to you now sit up, so I can get them out." He said.

"I want Vincent," She said, showing a bit of defiance that she never had when her father was living.

The man scoffed, "If you want to live with those disgusting things so be it. I am just doing what your father would have wanted me to."

"Dad would want me to be in pain...?" She asked, feeling her stomach drop.

"If it was for the best," The doctor stated, bandaging up her back, "Oh well, we can deal with it tomorrow.

"Dad..." A small voice said.

The man turned around, "What do you want, Raiden? Something that will bring shame to me again?"

"I want food." Raiden said. The man sighed and finished up Corona's bandages.

"No."

"B-"

"I said no, child. Now shut up about it before I take away that medicine of yours and I know you can't tolerate pain at all."

Raiden groaned and bite her lip. The doctors sighed and walked out of the room with his long black braid swishing behind him.

"He probably just doesn't want you throwing up when he rips your wings out too," Corona said, trying to be helpful, "Since you don't have a tolerance for pain."

"No, he's punishing me. When I do something that makes him look bad he won't feed me." Raiden stated.

"Then aren't you use to it?" Corona asked.

"...I am." She said. "I'm quite good at making him look bad apparently." The girl sighed and then tilted her head to look at her, "Corona, right?"

"Raiden," Corona said softly, "Your dad is still as silly as ever. Even when he was young he was so silly..."

"Huh...?What do you mean?" Raiden asked, eyes full of curiosity.

"I knew your father when he was younger," Corona said with a smile, "He was so cute when he wasn't hurting people."

Raiden wrinkled her nose in disgust, "My dad can't be cute. He's too much of a jerk for that."

"But he was," Corona sighed, "He let his work get to him."

"I believe it..." Raiden said.

"Enough of that though," Corona said, perking up, "I need to get some sleep or I'm not going to get any better! You should too. It'll be good for you."

"Fine." The girl replied with a pout. She turned around and shut her eyes hoping sleep would take a hold of her soon.


	14. Chapter 14

**I own nothing! Also, haven't I just been awesome about updating? **

Vincent sighed and looked at his cape in a disgusted manner when he noticed all the blood that had soaked deep into the already crimson fabric. He flicked his long cape making specks of blood fly off and then land on the clean whiteness of Corona's kitchen floor.

"Disgusting..." Vincent mumbled as he wiped the warm liquid off of his pale skin. The blood just smeared though, leaving a grotesque red streak across the man's cheek. All he wanted to do was get a few things Corona needed, but it didn't go as planned.

The man looked down at the floor seeing the cause of all this mess. It was Skyler laid out face down on the ground with blood seeping out of cracked head and burn marks all down his back and all over his mortal body. Vincent had given him hell, that's for sure. Chaos had taken over him and he had gone overboard.

Vincent leaned down and picked up a horribly cut up hand with deep gashes and some flesh falling off where the burns had gotten too bad. He pressed two fingers and his wrist and felt a steady pulse. Good, he was still alive, but for how long? Vincent wiped off his hand on his cape and stood back up. He looked around, made a quick phone call to dispose of the boy, and then left to clean the offensive red matter that was already drying on his body.

He grabbed the items Corona had asked him to get before he went to his house to wash up though. Vincent was content after his shower and felt like he had gotten a suitable revenge. He stopped and thought of something he could bring to the hospital while Corona was asleep and he was awake or maybe just something to cheer her up. Flowers, flowers seemed acceptable. It would give her something pretty to look at in that bleak hospital room.

The man purchased the biggest bundle of flowers the flower shop had and then headed off to the hospital feeling confident about life. And why shouldn't he? Things seemed to be going his way with Skyler out the picture. In due time Corona would probably cling to him like she had to that other disgusting man! It was only a matter of time and he couldn't help, but smile as he pushed the door open to her room.

It looked awfully strange to Tseng and Reno when they saw him smiling. The girl he came to visit wasn't in the room at the time, since her wings were being removed and the reason she had sent him out is, so he wouldn't worry about her. Of course, it was like her to do something like that.

"Where's Corona?" Vincent asked, laying the things he had brought down near her bed.

"She went to go get something removed, yo," Reno said, "I don't remember what it was though."

"It was her wings." Raiden spoke up.

"...Wings? Did you receive a concussion?" Vincent asked.

"Ya' know what, I don't even know." The girl said with a sigh.

"Oh yes, I remember now," Reno said with a smirk, "They were still going out, yo, but Doc said they had to come out."

Vincent sighed, "Alright." He sat down in the chair near Corona's bed and decided to wait.

"Hey, Vincent..." Raiden said as she sat up some, cussing under her breathe when pain surged through her, "Oww, I broke some ribs, wow. Anyway... my dad may be a jerk, who doesn't feed his own daughter...but... he is serious about his job, so don't worry too much about it."

The two men by Raiden's side agreed with her and when Corona came back into the room she went straight back to the bed with the nurse's help.

"Are you alright? Do you need anything?" The nurse asked Corona after she helped her lay back down.

"Can I go die now?" She asked in a serious, sad tone.

"No, there will be none of that." The nurse said.

"It hurts so badly," The girl said with tears arriving in her eyes.

"I know; the pain medication will kick in shortly..." She said.

Corona looked away from the nurse, but didn't say anything else as silent tears slid down her scarred face.

"Can I have my medicine now?" Raiden asked, seeming out of breathe. She was taking short quick breathes now since the meds were wearing off.

"Oh..." The nurse said looking away, "The doctor said I can't give you anymore until tomorrow..."

"H-huh? But the meds don't last long. He knows that..." She said.

"Sorry." The nurse said before quickly walking out of the room leaving two girls in pain.

"Maybe I can convince him otherwise..." Tseng said and walked out to find the doctor in charge.

The Raiden's breathing began to get more and more shallow since deep breathes felt like knives were digging into her chest. Her eyes were beginning to water so she covered her eyes lazily with one hand.

"I...told ya' she'll...be fine." The girl stated in between breathes to Vincent. She laughed which caused her to almost gasp for air since laughing made things worse.

Vincent nodded, "Yes, you were right." He could tell she was trying to keep her mind off the pain.

Corona couldn't stand hearing the girl in pain, so, regardless of her own pain, she took the pills out a cup the nurse gave her and held them out. "Give these to her, Vincent," She said softly, "I can take more pain than her."

"I-I'll...be fine." Raiden insisted, feeling tears slide down her own face.

"Just take them already," Corona said in a tone that dared her to say no again.

"Fine," Raiden said, sounding like a scolded child. Vincent took the pills over to her and placed them in her free hand.

"T-thanks." Raiden tried to sit up. She winced in pain when she did, almost dropping the pills. Reno helped her, careful not to touch her where it hurt. The girl popped the pills in her mouth and swallowed them both without water. She was hurting so bad it didn't matter; she just needed them in her system.

"I hope those help, yo," Reno said.

"They'll take awhile...before they get...into my system." Raiden stated

"Just relax until then, yo," Reno said, blaming himself for what happened, since it kind of was. The girl nodded and her soft, shallow breathing filled the room. Raiden felt like she looked pathetic right now, but didn't care as long as these meds kicked in.

"I stole a bottle." Tseng stated, walking into the room.

"That would have been useful a few moments ago, yo," Reno said with a smirk.

"Gimme two more." The girl pleaded decided more was better, "But first...give some to Corona."

Tseng took out two pills and handed them to Corona before sitting back down near his niece having no intention to let her O.D. herself.

"Vincent," Corona said in a soft tone, which was hard to hear with Reno telling a story about the time he ate twelve crab legs and then danced down town in a fountain.

"Yes?" Vincent said; looking annoyed the louder Reno's voice got.

"Can I smell those flowers?" She asked, looking at the bouquet at the end of her bed where he had set it.

"Sure." The man said, standing up. He grabbed the whole bouquet and brought it over to her.

She took the bouquet, making it look like she wasn't in pain since there was no need to make the man worry, and held the flowers close to her face with a smile. "They're so pretty. I love flowers so much. Can I have one?"

"They're all for you." Vincent stated.

"All of them?" She asked as her smile grew.

Vincent nodded. "All of them."

"Thank you so much, Vincent." Corona smiled, looked at the flowers, and then up at him, "Come down here for a second." Vincent obeyed and leaned down.

She lifted herself up with one hand and gave him a kiss on his cheek bone. "Kissing on the nose is weird in my opinion," She stated with a smile.

Vincent smiled, "I hope you don't have anything against kissing on the lips."

Corona began blushing and shook her head, but couldn't find her words. Vincent smiled again and leaned back in his chair. He felt uneasy by the sudden silence across the room though.

"Did you remember Quebec?" Corona said, finally breaking the silence.

"Of course," Vincent said and then dug out Quebec from the bag he had brought of her stuff.

She was happy to see her bear and sat it on her lap with a smile. "I was worried about him. He is such a trouble maker." Corona said with a giggle.

"Well, he stayed out of it." Vincent stated.

"Such a good bear," She said and gave it a tight hug, "I love him so much. He never tells my secrets."

"That's good.' Vincent said with a slight smile.

"Do you have a friend you tell everything to?" Corona asked.

Vincent shook his head, "...No."

"You need someone, Vincent," She said softly.

"I know..." He sighed and looked out the window on the sterile whiteness that was the wall.

Corona thought for a moment and said, "You can tell me anything, Vincent. I won't tell. I promise!"

"Thanks…" Vincent said and then glanced behind him, "But not here though."

"Can you shut the curtains?" She asked in a hushed tone since Reno repeatedly looking at her was kind of scary.

Vincent did as he was told and glared at Reno before shutting the curtains completely. Corona was already distracting herself with the toys he brought her by making them line up, next to her since the stitches on her back hurt too much for anything else.

"Are you feeling better?" Vincent asked.

"It hurt less than last time," She stated.

Vincent nodded, "I assume that is good."

"They only ripped them out this time, last time they broke my wings first," Corona said as she placed delicate fingers on Quebec's wings.

"Oh…" Vincent said, not knowing if that was a good thing or not.

"I'm sorry," She said softly with a smile, "You probably don't really care. I wouldn't either if I were you. Did you feed your fish while you were at my house?"

"Yes," Vincent said, "I remembered to."

"He must have made you really happy," She remarked.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Vincent asked.

"You just seem happier, that's all," Corona stated, "I just thought you really liked that fish..."

"Well...I guess it was a well behaved fish." Vincent said, feeling like he would disappoint her if he said otherwise.

She smiled happily at him and for the first time since she got in the hospital she actually looked at him instead of hiding her face behind something or turning it away. "I know! I've been taking good care of him!"

Vincent nodded, "You have been doing a good job then."

"You really think so? I was afraid he'd swim away from you," She said, "Since he's still a guppy and all."

"No, I think he's taken a liking to me." Vincent stated, keeping a serious face.

Corona giggled and hugged her bear tighter. "That's good. Did you see the little castle I put in there?"

Vincent nodded, "It was fit for a king."

"Oh, Vincent, you know exactly what to say to make a girl feel special," She said with a giggle, but turned her head away again, since she had remembered the scar. Vincent frowned sensing she was feeling uncomfortable. Corona didn't see this though and began softly brushing her finger against Chelsea's hair.

"Do you need anything?" Vincent asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," She said in a tone that almost suggested she forgot he was even there for a moment.

"Alright," Vincent said and then gazed back out the window, "just tell me if you think of something."

Corona stayed silent for quite some time, since Reno's stories were getting interesting and while Tseng called him a liar, she believed him. At least the stories seemed to be cheering up a few people in the room.

"Hey, Vincent," Corona said softly while Reno went into a detailed story of the biggest stingray he had ever seen.

"Yes?" Vincent asked.

"Do you think Skyler is never gonna talk to me again?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"...I don't know." Vincent said as he looked away.

"I don't think he will..." She stated in her soft, fragile tone.

Vincent stayed silent and nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't think he would..." Corona said as she forced herself to lie down and turned her back to the man.

Vincent sighed and said a non-audible sorry. It was his fault she would never talk to the man again after what he had done to him, but it was for the best, wasn't it? Of course it was; the man was abusive!

He would be so much better for it, even if it wasn't a hard competition to win. It was not even a competition at all really. So there was no need for him to feel insecure about himself, since he knew he had it in the bag. All he had to do was sit back and wait until she realized that he was perfect for her. It was as simple as that and it wasn't like she knew any other guys. Vincent was confident now; more confident than he ever had been.

How could he possibly screw this one up? She didn't know any better and he could tell her anything to get out of trouble.


	15. Chapter 15

**I don't own **_**Final Fantasy!**_** Please review!**

"I seriously disapprove of this." The girl said looking straight ahead while her father changed the bandages that were around her rib cage.

"Do you desire to get better or not?" Her father stated as he finished up bandaging.

She sighed and pulled her hospital gown back down then held out her hands.

"You're too reckless." He said, "I didn't raise you to get beat up like slum trash."

"Didn't raise me at all," Raiden mumbled.

Her father paused and studied her hands, "Hmm, looks like you are healing faster than expected." He was looking at her hand like it was a medical breakthrough or something.

She snorted, "Well ain't that just great?"

"I did not send you to the best schools to have you talking like an idiot." He studied her hand again and said to himself, "Shock treatments...It may have interesting results." The doctor scribbled something down on his notepad and then opened up the curtains not even telling anyone he was finished doctoring her up before he walked out of the room with an idea fresh in his brain.

She was happy that Tseng was sneaking her pain killers, because now it didn't hurt nearly as much to move around. The girl was now able to sit up some. She was bored though, so she got out the files from her bag that had been with her when she was beat up. She knew Tseng wouldn't be here since he was going to "take care of a pest" this only meant he was would well...he was going to hurt someone badly today and she was confident he would. He always said that a Turk always completes the mission no matter what. It seemed like a motto to these people.

Could she possibly stand to read her file now? It was more of a boredom thing right now, it wasn't like anyone was going out of their way to get her means of entertainment.

The girl sighed and opened it up to a random page reading about how much she failed, all the shock treatments, and forcing her to touch metal to see the extent of how much lightning she could take. It said numerous things that either made her mad or upset even more knowing this was done to her.

"Whatcha' reading?" Corona asked as she crossed the little curtain wall to the other girl's side and sat on her bed.

"Nothing too great..." Raiden said, looking down at all the papers.

"You looked interested in it..." Corona said softly, but didn't touch anything that wasn't hers.

Raiden thought for a moment, "Umm...Can I tell you something and you promise not to get mad..."

"I can try," The green haired girl stated.

Raiden let out a deep breath, "Alright...umm, well, I was being nosy at my work. I work for ShinRa doing weird odd jobs-that doesn't matter. Anyway, I was looking at some files at the science department, but I, uh, was caught and I spazzed and ran out with two files in my hand I was trying to organize..." She paused, "I didn't know what to do with them, but...I looked through the first one and… it was mine, I didn't know I even had one..." Raiden had a sad look in her eyes, "b-but the second file...had your name on it and I only looked through a little bit of it, but it was before I met you, honest! I didn't read much of it and here." She handed the girl the file she was reading. "You can read mine to make it fair, but I have yours somewhere around here..." Raiden began searching in the bag for the other file.

"Is that all?" Corona laughed. "That isn't a big deal. You can keep that file, I don't need to look at it."

Raiden gave her a surprised look with eyes full of confusion, "Huh? You're not mad?"

"Why would I be? It's just a bunch of words from my past," Corona said with another laugh like it was the most ridiculous thing to be mad, "And if I'm always looking at the past I'm gonna start looking at nothing, since I'd do nothing with the future."

"Ohh..." The girl said, and then laughed a bit, "I'm stupid sometimes, sorry..." The girl thought again, "I wish my dad would have let you keep your wings. I think having wings would be pretty cool."

"No, your dad was right to take them out," Corona said with a smile.

"Why?" Raiden asked with blueish-green eyes still holding their curiosity.

"Well," Corona started and then slowly said as if she was afraid of being misunderstood, "When I look like this, well, it'll only make it harder to find someone to love me if I had wings. He was doing me a favor."

Raiden nodded and looked down at the bed. "Yeah people judge you by how you look...b-but, I mean, wings are beautiful, right? I mean, if angels have them then they have to be okay. People can't hate that..." The girl looked up. "I'm sorry, I don't think before I say things sometimes..."

"It's okay, you're right about people judging you for how you look though," Corona said softly, "Nobody wants to be with someone who is all scarred up.."

"I have a big scar if it makes you feel better." The girl said with a sigh.

"But you have such a pretty face," Corona said, "I couldn't imagine someone turning you down."

The girl blushed and looked away, "T-thanks, but it's more like average...plus, this face makes people mad. You're lucky that you're just one race..."

"I wish I could be as interesting as you though," Corona said in a reassuring tone, "And since you're two races you know that the person you marry will love you no matter what your blood says."

Raiden smiled, but shook her head, "Nah, I don't know about that."

"I think you should have more faith in the people you get with," Corona said.

"Speaking of people people are with, that Valentine guy and you suit each other." Raiden said with a friendly wink.

"Oh, no," Corona said as she pulled at her bandages, "He doesn't... I mean, I don't..."

"Well he always seems so happy when he looks at ya. He seems legit." Raiden said.

"No, he's my neighbor," Corona said, "And he's just a really nice guy..."

"O-oh." Raiden said with a blush, "I'm sorry, I guess I misunderstand things a lot...heh..."

"I mean," Corona kept pulling at her bandages, "I don't know... He probably just feels bad for me..."

"I don't know he looks genuine..." Raiden said, thinking.

"I mean, I guess we should ask him," Corona said, "He's asleep, but he said I can wake him up whenever I want something."

"I don't think you should wake him up…He might get mad." The girl said, looking worried.

"Nah, he won't get mad at me," Corona said as she stood up, "He never stays mad for long anyway."

"I think that's a bad idea, man.." Raiden said.

"Stop it! you're scaring me by saying stuff like that!" Corona exclaimed.

"Hey." Raiden said, with a shrug, "You're scaring me by attempting to do scary things."

"I'm gonna do it," Corona said before disappearing behind her curtain and softly nudging the sleeping man.

"He's gonna kill u-"

"Hmm? do you need something?" A sleepy Vincent asked.

"Vincent, what am I to you?" Corona bluntly asked.

"...Well, I am your neighbor and I hope friend..." Vincent said, awkwardly.

"See?" Corona said to Raiden through the curtain, "I don't mean anything to him."

"Well, I would like it if you would let you mean more to me and me mean more to you..." Vincent said.

"Like best friends?" Corona asked and blinked twice with that naive smile.

"More." Vincent said.

Corona thought for a second and then gave it another go, "You wanna be my boyfriend?"

Vincent nodded with serious eyes.

"But..." Corona sat on her bed and looked at her bear, "That isn't right. You can't like me..."

"I do though," The man stated.

"You _can't_," She said softly.

"I do." He said again.

"But you can't," She said, placing her head in her bandages hands, "It doesn't make sense."

"Just let it happen." Raiden said.

"How?" Corona asked, feeling unsure of herself now.

"Accept what you think might be impossible 'cuz right now it's made possible." The girl replied making it up on the spot.

"So, Vincent, you want to be my boyfriend...?" Corona asked, looking up at him.

Vincent nodded, "I'd be honored to."

"Alright..." She nodded her head, but didn't do anything particularly memorable.

Vincent smiled slightly while Raiden clapped in approval.

The green haired girl began feeling awkward and was thankful when the nurse came to remove her bandages, so she could have a few moments to think this over. The doctor was right about her healing quickly, since the burns were gone on her body; there were scars from it that didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason to it.

If Corona was certain of one thing though, she didn't want to ever step foot outside her house after she got home and she didn't want to ever look at herself again. The nurse told her that the scars will fade, but did she really think Corona believed that? The girl just wanted the stitches in her back to get out, which they were suppose to take care of themselves, and then she wanted to sleep forever. The nurse had left to get the doctor, so he could say whether she was allowed to leave now or not.

The doctor walked in a while later, pushing back her curtains, "Ms. Dragon." He said.

"Hello," Corona said as she brought the blanket over her body since he made her nervous.

"Your wounds have healed nicely. You may leave unless you enjoy staying here." He said, "I would prefer you go, since you are fine now."

"Okey-dokey," Corona said, "Can I borrow some clothes? Mine are no good."

"This is a hospital not a charity." He stated adjusting his glasses, "But if you need clothes then I guess I can find something."

"Thank you," She said in a casual tone as she slid out of bed and began taking off the night gown. The man walked away so he could find the woman clothes, whatever it may be.

There were some clothes that people had donated to someone in need and this girl was in need of some clothes, so he grabbed some pants and shirt without considering colors. When he brought them to her she was waiting for him with that big goofy smile of hers. "You succeeded!" She said happily and held out her hands, so she didn't have to wait around without clothes anymore.

The doctor sighed and handed her the clothes before going back through the curtains to the other side. He paused just as he walked in front of Raiden's bed, "Alone again, hmm?" The man mocked before walking off for real.

Corona put on the pants that were awfully big on her and noticed the shirt didn't match, so she went to find the doctor. "Raiden, Vincent, I'll be right back," Corona said as she held up the pants with one hand and in the other she had the shirt she needed to trade. Just where was that man?

She saw him with the nurse and tugged on his sleeve. "The shirt doesn't match. Can I borrow your belt, too?" She asked.

"Look in that box over there." He stated pointing to it, "Just put something on."

Corona nodded and began digging through the box for a matching shirt and belt. "Do you like purple on me or maybe green to match my hair?" She asked as she kept searching.

"I don't care." He said.

"Yes, you do," Corona said, "Now green," She held up a green shirt and then a purple one, "Or purple?"

The doctor sighed heavily, "Go with purple; now leave."

The young looking girl pulled the shirt on, threw the other one back in the box, and gave him a hug, "You should stop being so serious. I remember when you were fun."

"...Sure." He said, sarcastically, "Now please leave."

"Okay, bye-bye," She said, gave him another tight squeeze, and then went back to Vincent and Raiden. "I'm back," She declared.

"Cool." Raiden said, already looking lonely. Vincent had Corona's things gathered up and was ready to go. The now healthy girl noticed this, so she made her new boyfriend standstill, and got one of her favorite dolls out which she handed to Raiden. "So, you won't be lonely."

"Oh, you don't have to leave this with me, I'll be fine." Raiden said, feeling guilty about accepting it.

"No, she wants to stay with you," Corona said, "Plus, it isn't much fun being alone."

"Well, alright. I guess I can't change her mind." Raiden said with a slight laugh.

"Be good while I'm gone," Corona said with a smile and waved to the girl.

"See ya." Raiden replied with a salute.

"Bye-bye," Corona said before finally leaving.

The younger girl sighed and leaned back into her pillow. The room seemed so much quieter now without Corona. Even though they didn't talk much Raiden just liked knowing someone was there.

"Guess it's just you and me now." Raiden mumbled to the doll. It looked at her with blank eyes. She smiled, because she was talking to a doll now, "Let's see how long it takes me before I go insane, shall we?"

Of course, it didn't answer.

"You're not much on conversation." The girl commented. She just had till the end of the week until she would get released. Tseng had made sure to confirm it with her father, and her dad would send her out of there as fast as he could. It was definite that she would go home then. The doll fell over on her and the ribbon in her hair was loose. Raiden sighed again as she fixed the bow. It was going to be a long three days.

At least she'd get guest later.

**_Ramma_Lamma_Kin_Ding_Dong_**

Corona walked quietly and avoided looking at anyone. It would be a long walk to the way back to her house, that's for sure.

"You don't have to walk me home," Corona stated.

"...I want to...and we live next to each other, anyway." Vincent said and glanced at a few people they were passing by. Corona was spontaneously tackled by his least favorite friend and was lying on the ground with Quebec next to her.

"Must you always make my life difficult?" Vincent said as he pulled the hyperactive child off of his woman.

"What's your problem? I was just giving her a hug!" Yuffie said with a pout before noticing the scars on the woman. "What happened to you?"

Vincent sighed and shook his head at the girl.

"I was bad," Corona said softly as she stood up.

"Stop saying that." Vincent said, "You were not."

"What'd you do?" Yuffie asked, bouncing around as she looked at the other female.

"I was just bad," Corona said again with her eyes looking at the ground, "There was nothing specific, I was just bad..."

"Can you please go, Yuffie. I need to get her home. She just got released from the hospital." Vincent stated.

"Were you in the hospital for being bad too?" Yuffie asked, earning a nod from Corona.

"Let's go." Vincent said as he grabbed Corona's hand and started pulling her back in the direction of her house.

"Why don't you ever want to talk to me?" Yuffie asked as she followed Vincent.

"You just appear at the most inconvenient times." He stated.

"Well, we can just plan a day to hang out," Yuffie stated, "I'm free all the time, unless Cid needs me."

"Maybe, that would be better than you showing at times like these." Vincent said.

"How about tomorrow?" Yuffie suggested.

"If Corona is feeling well enough tomorrow to be left alone then yes, that is fine." Vincent said.

"I'm feeling fine now," Corona said in a sheepish voice, "You can go have fun."

"Are you sure? Yuffie can wait till another day." Vincent asked, not wanting to be stuck with this ninja just yet.

"Hey! You act like I'm a bad friend!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Well Cloud is a better one and he mopes all day." Vincent stated.

"Ugh!" The ninja stomped her foot, feeling offended. "At least I don't sleep all day, moping about some woman who didn't love me!"

"Yuffie, I'm over that woman." Vincent said sharply.

"Don't get an attitude about it," Yuffie said as she crossed her arms.

Vincent scoffed and began walking again. Being mad this time, the short haired woman didn't bother catching up and instead went back to where she originally was. Vincent seemed still upset about it and remained silent the whole way to Corona's house.

"Are you mad at Yuffie?" Corona asked softly when they got into her yard.

"When am I not?" Vincent said, sighing.

"I'm sorry she said such mean things to you," Corona said, but left it at that since she didn't think it was her business to ask about the other woman.

"It's fine. She is just young and says what she wants." Vincent said.

"Well, why don't you just say what you want?" She suggested, "I mean, if that's what you want..."

"I don't know..." Vincent said and sighed again, "Maybe next time. I just hope she grows up soon and acts more her age."

"Is... that what you like?" Corona asked.

"Well I just don't want her annoying me twenty-four seven with her childish antics. She's a good kid, but sometimes..." The man said.

The girl pulled on the tip of her hair which had curled up since she had nothing to straighten it with at the hospital. "I'm sorry, maybe you should just talk to her about it?"

Vincent shook his head, "Maybe another day, I have to give her time to calm down."

"And what about you?" Corona asked.

"I'm fine." Vincent said.

She nodded and said, "Good! I was worried about you."

"Don't be." He replied.

She looked at him for a quick moment before looking back at the ground, "I want to though... You never tell me anything, so I get worried you're not okay."

"I'm sorry." The man said.

"It is okay, Vincent, you don't mean to," Corona said.

"I still am sorry." He stated, "Now we need to get you inside, so you can rest."

She nodded, went inside her house, and said, "I guess I'll see ya' around.."

Vincent nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow,"

"I'll be asleep," She said quickly.

"...Then sometime soon." He said, hopefully.

"I'm going to be sleeping," She said just as fast, since she knew Vincent was the type to go out and she didn't want to leave her house anymore.

"...Well then, eventually," He said with a smile, and then began walking off. Corona nodded, went to her room where she shut and locked her door, and began the beginning of what she hoped to be a very long sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**I own nothing! Aw, sweet chapter! **

"I think you'll get out soon, yo," Reno stated from the end of Raiden's bed.

"Yep, tomorrow...I hope." She said, sighing

"Are you disappointed or something, yo?" Reno asked.

"I was just wants to get out of here. Hospitals are only good for looking through random peoples medical files and that's it," Raiden stated.

"Is that what you've been doing?" He asked with a smirk.

"What cha' talking about. What medical files?" Raiden asked, smiling slightly.

"You tell me, yo," He said with a chuckle.

"They were interesting I'll tell you that much," The girl said, "But I get caught too easily." Raiden then sighed, thinking about all the scoldings she got from reading files as a kid.

"At least I know I won't have to worry about secrets, yo," Reno said with his smug look back on his face.

" Well then." Raiden said as she grabbed the bottle of pain killers from her bag, "I think I should be offended right now."

"Don't OD on me, yo," Reno said since she had taken some earlier in his visit.

"Just taking five more; no big deal," She lied with a slight smile on her face.

"I should take those away from you, yo," He said, not finding that very humorous.

She popped two in her mouth and swallowed, "I only took two, so calm down...I can feel the other ones wearing off and I don't want to be in pain, 'cuz I don't do well with that, alright."

"I know, yo," Reno said with a slight sigh, but just left it at that.

"It didn't hurt that much getting beat up, but these broken ribs...they are gonna kill me." Raiden said, as she patted her rib cage.

"Stop moving so much then, yo," Reno stated.

"But they don't hurt right now," Raiden said, looking confused.

"That's because of all the medicine," He said, smirking.

Raiden winked, "I know." She sat up some more since the pain was virtually nonexistent now.

"You need to relax, yo," Reno said.

"I guess," She said as she looked over to the other side of the room, "So, apparently Valentine and Corona are going out now. He was in, AVALANCHE but I guess he's an alright guy."

"Whatcha' got against AVALANCHE," Reno asked.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Well, I mean...they didn't like ShinRa which means they didn't like my uncle. Plus, they did something Tseng says to never bring up."

"Yeah, but you haven't been here that long, so I didn't think you would have something against them, yo," Reno said.

"Well, it's not like I hate them." She stated, looking like she was being scolded.

"I wasn't mad, yo," He said, "I was just curious..."

She looked worried, "I just hope it works out for them...her chart said she came in for suspected domestic violence...been here before for that. Dad mentioned something about it."

"Whoa! Really, yo?" That couldn't have caught his interested faster than a sale on shoes.

Raiden nodded, "Yeah, I guess she didn't get away from him until now."

"I wonder what happened, yo," Reno said, "She looked like she was in here for something bad."

"...burns." The girl mumbled.

"How, yo?" Reno asked, like she would know.

" Well.." The girl thought, "Dad treated them like he does with water burns, so I'm assuming that...just a guess."

"You think she'd tell me if I asked, yo?" Reno asked.

"She doesn't even know you... Man, and I thought I was nosy." Raiden said, laughing.

"I'm not nosy, yo," He said with a chuckle.

"Alright, you're just a man who got suddenly interested when something personal about a stranger was brought up. Not nosy at all!" Raiden said with light sarcasm in her voice.

"I wasn't the one who read her file, yo," Reno said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Aww, so mean," She said, turning away a little too dramatically.

"Calm down, yo," He said with a smirk.

"I don't know. I'm pretty hurt over here." Raiden said.

"You'll get better, yo."

"Will I? Will I really?"

"Yes, you really will, yo, but only if you are good and actually rest instead of popping pills."

"I have been resting since I've been here. Plus dad still refuses to feed me so I might go into a comma if I sleep."

"Well, when you get out, I'll give feed you something amazing, yo."

"Really?" She asked tilting her head like he said something crazy.

"Whatever you like, yo," Reno said.

She smiled, "Do you like wutainese food?"

"I'm always willing to try new things, yo," He said.

Raiden looked shocked, "You haven't eaten any before?"

"Nope."

The girl thought for a moment, "Alright, we need to find a restaurant that makes it decent and trust me, I will know if it isn't good." She sighed, "If it isn't I will have to make something, I guess."

"I can't wait, yo," Reno said with a smile.

"And it just so happens Wutainese people like me better." Raiden stated, sounding like that was an accomplishment.

"That's good, yo," Reno said, "I hope there won't be any more problems."

Her eyes looked sad, but she kept a smile, "I'll try not to get in anyone's way again..."

"It wasn't your fault, yo. I never want you to blame yourself for other people's stupidity," He said, "You're fine the way they are. It is peoples like that guy who are the ones who really deserve to be in pain."

"Why don't you mind I'm this way?" She asked with serious eyes, "It seems like it would be a burden for you."

"Because blood doesn't matter, yo," He said, "You have a good personality and are beautiful. That's good enough for me."

"I-I don't know about beautiful," Raiden said seeming embarrassed, "Seems like an overstatement."

"You're beautiful to me, yo," He stated.

Her blush deepened as she looked down and slightly covered her face with one hand, "Gaia Reno! You're bad for my heart."

"Well, it's true, yo," He said with a smirk as he leaned over, moved her hand, and tilted her head up. "I think I'm really starting to love you, yo."

Her face never lost its coloring, but she seemed even more embarrassed now, "I-I hope that's a good thing."

Reno nodded slightly before pressing their lips together. It was shock to her and made the poor girls heart beat faster again. When he pulled back he had a smirk on his face and said, "You're a really good kisser, yo."

"S-shut up!" She said, looking away.

His smirk carried on as he said, "Well, it's true, but maybe I need to try again and make sure I'm right."

"Huh?" Raiden looked at him in disbelief.

"You're right," He said, "We'll save that for later, yo."

"I might die before that happens." She mumbled, thinking of the possibility of a heart attack.

"I hope not, yo," He said, "Because I don't want to be alone forever."

It took her a moment to get what being said, "T-that's another overstatement..."

He smiled and said, "That's an opinion, yo."

"T-then, I guess, it's okay," Raiden let out a nervous laugh as she shrugged.

He gave her a confused look since that comment had thrown him off slightly.

"Your opinion, it's okay..." The girl replied with the same confused face as him.

Reno began laughing at his own stupidity and said, "I thought you were opening letting me kiss you. I was gonna say that was awfully brave of you, yo."

She blushed again and laughed slightly as she looked away, "Brave, I am not."

"I guess I'll have to be the daring one then, yo," He said with a smirk.

"And that's why I'm going to die of a heart attack before I even turn twenty," She sighed, "I guess I've lived an okay life."

"Relax, we can take things slow," He said as he sat back down.

"Take what slow?" Tseng asked as he stepped into the room with a more serious expression than before.

"Our relationship, yo," Reno said stupidly.

Tseng cringed not wanting to think about his niece, whom he still thought of as a child, in a relationship, "Reno-"

"Hey, sexy." Raiden interrupted with a wink.

"Raiden..." Tseng said knowing she was just trying to confuse him.

Raiden made a face like she was scared which made him mad, "I love you."

Tseng sighed and sat down in a chair. The girl looked down at his shirt sleeve and noticed one thing. There was a spot of blood.

"You kill someone?" She asked making it sound like it was something as simple as buying milk at a store. Tseng gave her a look of don't ask. She held up her hands and looked away, "Alright, just asking, I mean you got blood on you and all."

Reno looked away and began to whistle, not wanting to be the next victim.

Raiden sighed, "It's on your face too. Just what...did you do?"

"It was just a mission." Tseng simply said not wanting to give details to her innocent mind. Raiden nodded and left it at that. Reno's whistling continued which filled in the silence. A nurse came in to break and spoke up awkwardly, "The doctor wanted me to get you for your treatment."

"Alright," Raiden said, looking down. She started to get up, but Tseng stopped her.  
>"What treatments?" Tseng demanded.<p>

The nurse fidgeted, "Shock treatments..."

"I don-"

"Uncle, It's fine." Raiden said as she got up. She looked back at him with emotionless eyes and then smiled, "It doesn't hurt. You know it never does."

"Raid-..." The girl was already out the door. Why didn't he try harder?


	17. Chapter 17

**I don't own **_**Final Fantasy,**_** but I'd love to! Also, this is a long chapter, so I'm sorry!**

Poor Vincent hadn't seen his girlfriend in what felt like forever and with Yuffie trying to hang out with him every waking moment it felt like it was longer. Whenever he tried to call her to ask if she wanted to go somewhere she'd simply say she was tired and then hang up.  
>It was nothing against him, but she just didn't want to leave her room. She had slept almost twenty-four seven, only getting up to take her medicine and to use the restroom, but other than that she wasn't leaving her room at all. The windows were all shut tight, never showing any sign of light being turned on even for a moment. She had put her door up sometime in the night and after that she never thought to check if the locks worked. Her room door locked and that's all that mattered.<p>

In the early afternoon when Vincent called her, she claimed she was too tired to leave her house for what felt like the millionth time and hung up. Vincent sighed and set down the receiver. He needed to get her out of the house that's for sure. If he didn't he'd have to hang out with Yuffie again and she'd never leave him alone.

The man looked out his window. Should he go over there? She had been sleeping an awful lot, so she couldn't have been that tired, could she? He didn't even know if she would let him in the house. Being locked out wasn't a problem, since he knew where the spare key to her house was.

Vincent walked out of his house thinking about what he would even say to the woman. He walked through the vast garden noticing how run down it was getting. Even some of her paintings had started to fade.

She was just too scared to leave her house and it was making it look as if no one even lived there in the first place. It was kind of a disappointment to look at since he knew what it was like before, so he tried not to look around anymore than he had to before he took the key from under a pot on her windowsill. He put the key into the correct place on the door and turned it until he heard a click. It was open now and he walked in.

Everything was starting to collect dust and as he got closer to her room the silence almost seemed to get louder. "Corona?" Vincent said as he knocked softly on her door.

It took a moment before the door creaked open and Corona was in front of him with swollen eyes from crying. Her hair had lost its crazy color and went back to a dark chocolate brown and had curls that weighed down her hair. She looked like she hadn't been keeping up with herself at all and like she had literally been sleeping all the time she said she was.

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked, looking worried.

"I'm fine," She said as she rubbed her eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you." The man stated, "I was worried."

"I was sleeping," She said, "I told you I was tired."

"You've been sleeping too much." He said.

"Is that even possible?" Corona asked as she scratched her dirty brown hair.

"Yes." Vincent said, "You need to get out more."

"I am getting out," She said, "I'm out right now, aren't I?"

"No, I mean out of the house." Vincent said with a sigh.

"I can't," Corona said, "It's too dangerous. I've learned my lesson with leaving and meeting new people. It's a mistake. Beside, what's so great about outside?"

Vincent sighed again. This was going to be harder than he thought, "Sun will be good for you. At least if nothing else get cleaned up before you go back to sleep."

"Why? It's not like I'll notice when I sleep..." She said, feeling extremely apathetic towards everything.

"...Alright." Vincent glanced down the hallway, "Sorry I wanted to spend time with you."

"Oh, Vincent, no! No, Vincent, it isn't like that..." Corona softly placed her hand on his arm, but moved it back, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'll make it up to you, just don't... Don't be upset, I'm sorry..."

Vincent looked back over at her, "I'm fine. I'll just wait until you feel better."

"I feel fine, see? Just don't leave me. I feel fine," She said, putting a big smile on for him, "I'm fine. We can do whatever you want. Let me go take a shower and we can do whatever you want. I feel fine, Vincent."

"No, I'll wait until you feel better." Vincent stated, "I don't want to push you into anything you aren't ready for right now."

Corona looked down at her feet, but didn't have anything to say. What was she suppose to even say? _"Sorry for being a bad girlfriend, but I haven't exactly got over my ex?" _No, that wouldn't do.

"I'll just go home. Call me when you feel better." Vincent said.

"I'm sorry..." She said and placed her hand on the door, since she figured he'd leave as soon as possible.

Vincent held back a sigh. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "I remembered you think the nose is a weird place" The man stood back up straight and then walked away while he said, "I hope you feel better soon."

"O-Okay," She said as she rubbed her eyes and shut the door, so if she did start crying he wouldn't see her and come back. 

**_Respect_Just_A_Little_Bit_**

Raiden stood there in her normal clothes with a tired look in her eyes. The shock treatments didn't hurt, but all the electricity tired out her body. She was happy though, hospitals were horrible to go to when they are for you.

"Don't embarrass me again." Her father said as he handed her some papers.

"Sorry." Raiden shrugged, "But I plan on it." She smiled as she shoved the release papers in her bag. She was finally free. Her father scoffed, but left to see what that spazzy nurse wanted this time.

The girl smiled triumphantly as she walked out the hospital's front doors. It was nice being outside again for once, especially when the weather was this nice, since summer was coming in. She glanced up at the sky seeing the bright sunshine. Yes this was nice and all, but honestly now the sun was annoying her now. If she went swimming that would make it better. Raiden sighed and started walking in the hot sun. Hot, tired, and hungry are three things she would rather not be right now.

But Reno was at work, so should she really eat? He had promised take her out to eat and that was a free lunch. The girl pouted and walked by the endless restaurants, trying her best too ignore them. To kill some time she decided she better return Corona's doll before she forgot.

The walk to her house felt long and when she got there she was surprised to see the girl passing back in forth in her own yard. Corona was wearing a red plaid skirt, black panty hose, a white long sleeved shirt, and short sleeved jacket. She was squeezing her light pink messenger bag and with all this her hair that was put up in a high bun bounced slightly. For once, the girl was wearing her black glasses, since she couldn't decide what contacts to wear.

"Hey?" Raiden called out.

Corona jumped anxiously when she heard someone else's voice. "H-Hey!"

Raiden smiled and then took out the doll from her bag, "Thanks for letting her keep me company."

"You're welcome," Corona said as she took the doll from the other girl.

The girl yawned, "So, how are ya?"

"Good! Fine-er-perfect!" Corona looked away from her, feeling embarrassed. "Did I cover up my scar good with makeup? I never use it, so I don't know..."

"Yeah, whoa," Raiden said not even seeing it anymore, "You need to teach me how to do that."

"Well, it took a lot..." Corona admitted.

"And it probably doesn't work with big scars, does it?" The girl sighed.

"Well, it helps to wear long sleeves," Corona said, looking down.

"Well then, never mind." She said, looking slightly disappointed.

"I'm sure you could..." Corona said softly.

"Hmm?" Raiden looked up.

"If you get enough makeup, that is," Corona said and began fanning herself with her hand nervously, "It's really hot. Why is it so hot? I don't like this sun thing. It is hot. Is it always this hot?"

"That's why you dress like this." Raiden said pointing to her dark wash jean shorts, black loose shirt that fell over her shoulders with a purple tank underneath, and converse shoes. Even though she was wearing such Summer-y clothes her complexion was still light like the sun refused to touch her skin. "Those are winter or fall clothes that you have on."

"Is there a difference?" Corona asked, feeling extremely hot.

Raiden nodded, "Yep, winter fabric is thicker. You at least need to take off those panty hoses so you'll feel a little cooler."

"No! The sun will touch my legs! The heat is so scary," Corona said, wanting to go back inside, but didn't want to lose sight of why she was outside in the first place.

The girl sighed, "Well alright." She glanced at the time, "I guess I better start walking."

"O-okay, see you later," Corona waved goodbye and began pacing again.

"Alright, I'll explain clothes more next time." Raiden said with a wink before walking back down the road. Corona gave her another wave and when the girl was out of sight, she climbed up her tree to see Yuffie in Vincent's yard playing with him, except Vincent didn't appear to be having too much fun.

She climbed further down a branch to see what they were doing, but was still careful not to fall. The girl just seemed to be running around hyper like usual and Vincent was ignoring her and sighing when she did something crazy.

"What are you doing in that tree?" Yuffie yelled as she came to a stop, scaring Corona.

"I-I-I-I-I," The poor girl was at a loss for words. She didn't want to actually admit what she was doing, but repeating the same word was making her look bad.

Vincent rolled his eyes at Yuffie. "Leave her alone."

"I wasn't being mean," The ninja said, "I was just asking a question!"

"I-I wanted to see Vincent," Corona said, feeling nervous, "Raiden said I don't have the right clothes on..."

"Long sleeves might not be a good idea in this heat." The man stated even though he was in a cape.

"I'll take you swimming if you come down here!" Yuffie said with a proud voice.

"I've read about swimming. It's what kids do during the summer," Corona said, "I've never been. I don't know how to swim, but I read a book where someone did."

"Maybe another day you can, Yuffie." Vincent stated.

"Why? It's hot and it isn't like she can't learn," Yuffie said.

"Just not today," Vincent said, flipping another page in his book.

"You just don't want her to have any fun," Yuffie said, stomping her foot, "And you're not the boss of us, anyway. Corona, get down here!"

From the tone of her voice, Corona could tell the other girl meant business, so she listened and quickly went to Vincent's yard. The man sighed, but said nothing.

"Now, Cid knows where really good places are to swim. I'll call him and you can just swim in your clothes," Yuffie said as she pulled out her phone.

"She never agreed." Vincent stated.

"She doesn't care. She never does," Yuffie said as she rolled her eyes.

"Yuffie." The man said, sternly.

The short haired girl groaned, turned to Corona, and asked, "Do you care if I take you to have fun on a hot summer day?"

"I can't swim," The brown haired girl said, "And it wouldn't be fun without Vincent and I don't think he wants to go..."

"He does too," Yuffie said reassuringly.

"Think again." He said, flipping to another page.

"Vincent will come if you come," Yuffie said, "And besides why do you need him? Are you his pet or something?"  
>"Well, no, but-"<br>"So, you're coming, right?"  
>"I... Okay. I'll come," Corona said in defeat, never really standing a chance.<p>

"Yuffie, she does not desire to go swimming with you." He stated.

"She just said she does," Yuffie said, "She's coming, Vincent. I'm going to show this girl how to have fun."

Vincent sighed, "Go swimming with Cid."

"Cid's no fun to go with alone. He splashes water and then stops for tea time," Yuffie complained.

"Even better now go play with him." The man said, still looking at his book.

"It is okay, Yuffie, I'll go with you," Corona said when she saw the other female getting upset, "I'm sure it will be enjoyable and Vincent wanted me out the house anyway..."

"You'll really go?" Yuffie asked, as she starting calling Cid without waiting for a second yes.

Vincent sighed. He guessed he would have to go too. What a difficult situation to be forced into. The ninja couldn't have made that call quicker before she was taking the more innocent girl by the hand and dragging her down the road.

"Here we go again." Vincent said as he picked up his stacks of books and followed them. Even with how peeved off he was, Corona looked slightly excited about going, since she's never seen a big body of water once in her life. She's only seen pictures or water from her sink or shower, but that's it, so this was new. As Yuffie passed by Raiden, Corona grabbed her arm and said, "We're going swimming. C'mon."

"Huh?" The girl said not even knowing what was going on.

"Yuffie is letting me go swim with her," Corona said, "We're going. You can too. C'mon, I'll take you."

"I don't think I have time for this." Raiden said.

"You can take Reno too," Corona said, "I've never been swimming. It'll be fun. Don't you wanna come?"

"I guess..." The girl said, reluctantly. Looks like another day of not eating.

"It'll be fun," Corona said with a reassuring smile and a trusting look in her eyes as she watched Yuffie. Vincent just sighed again hoping he would be able to find a tree to sit under.

They met up with Cid in a nice secluded spot. He had plenty of food and was making more with his wife, who was nagging him about how to cook. Yuffie was ready to swim and threw off most of her clothes, since she needed something to wear afterwards. Corona followed her example, but hid her chest behind her arms since she usually had on a thick layer of clothes, so this was completely new.

"Are you gonna eat something first?" Corona asked, noticing Raiden looking at the food.

"...I don't know," Raiden said, "Maybe just a snack or something."

"I'm gonna go swim, so good luck," Corona said as Yuffie dragged her to water.

"Thanks." The girl said, already picking up some food.

Yuffie was doing pretty alright for the first minute when it came to showing Corona how to swim, but the ninja got hyper and began dragging the girl further into the water. The water was coming higher and higher up, obviously and, of course, when the water was getting too high for her, Corona grabbed onto the other girl. Being suddenly grabbed scared Yuffie which made the girl push the inexperienced female away. Cid told them to stop horsing around and then focused back on his food. Food was more important than drowning women.

The ninja wasn't completely stupid, so when the girl wasn't coming back up she went into action mode and brought Corona's body to land, hoping nobody was seeing what was happening since she didn't want to get in trouble.

"Is she okay?" Raiden asked from the table that was set up.

Yuffie sent Raiden a signal for her to stop talking, since the person who would be most mad looked interested in his book, so she was still safe.

"Did you kill her?" Raiden asked, louder this time.

"Nah, I got her from the market. She's beautiful, isn't she?" Cid said as he waved a fish in front of the hungry girl.

"Wanna grill that up with some lemon?" Raiden asked nonchalantly.

"You better believe I was gonna," Cid said as he looked at his fish that he loved.

"I see. Don't disappoint me now and get to it." Raiden said with smile before getting up to check on Corona. Yuffie was freaking out and didn't know how to do CPR, since who knew she'd actually need that?

"Alright...so you did kill her. That's just great I just walked into a crime scene." Raiden said, trying to stay calm.

"She's not dead! Just... go get Cid, but don't let Vincent know what happened. Quick!" Yuffie said in a hushed voice.

"Got it," The girl said before running to the apron wearing man, "Hey, Corona needs CPR...like now..."

Cid made that old man noise that he does when he hears something shocking and ran to the girl. Of course, Cid knows how to do CPR, because he can fly a ship, so this was a piece of cake. And needless to say, if Vincent found out he had kissed his woman, someone would have to pay. The three were just relived when she coughed up the water, but it was surprising she even made it that long.

"Whoo! No jail time for us." Raiden declared.

"I don't like swimming..." Corona said as she fell back on the sand.

"That's 'cuz you went too far out," Raiden stated, "Waters deeper out there."

"I think I wanna be with Vincent..." She said and began sitting up, before Yuffie pushed her back down.

"No! You should rest," She said.

Cid scratched the back of his head, "Well, girly, I think we should tell him what happened. He probably knows what to do now."

"No, he doesn't!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Vincent's too busy reading anyway, so there!"

Raiden saw this was getting nowhere, "I'll tell him..."

"No, you won't!" Yuffie said. "She's fine, so it doesn't matter!"

"Yo, Vincent!" The girl yelled.

"Shut up," Yuffie hissed, while Cid looked the other way.

"Either you tell hi-" Raiden paused, "Cid! Cid! The fish is burning!" The girl looked panicked like she too thought that fish was a beauty.

"Oh, shit!" Cid couldn't have run there faster even if he was part lizard.

"What a shame," Raiden said with a sigh, "I was gonna eat that..."

"He can save it..." Corona said; having faith in a man she's never talked to.

"Nah, it's too charred now...oh well." The girl said, "But anyway you should just rest some. Almost dying takes a lot out of a person."

"Really?" Corona asked as she sat back up again. "I don't feel that bad. I'm just cold and that's all."

Raiden looked around, "I'll bring you your clothes, I guess."

"No," Yuffie butted in, "I'm gonna take her swimming some more before Cid gets done cooking. Besides she can't get redresssed if her underwear is wet."

Raiden gave her a weird look, "You are going to take her swimming when she almost drowned?"

"Well, now she has experience, so it should be fine," Yuffie said as she pulled Corona up and towards the water.

Raiden sighed and grabbed her other arm, "Let go of the poor girl, she's been through enough today."

"She's fine," Yuffie said as she tugged on the other arm.

"Just let her rest." Raiden insisted.

"She just said she wasn't tired," Yuffie said and gave another hard tug on the girl's arm, so Raiden would release her.

"I didn't hear anything." The girl said, falling forward slightly.

"You are such a liar," Yuffie said, since Corona had actually said she didn't feel that bad.

"Alright I'll take that, but anyway let her rest. If you want to swim with someone find someone else." She stated.

"I want to swim with _her,"_ Yuffie said stubbornly.

"And let her drown again?" Raiden asked.

"She'll be fine," Yuffie said as she tightened her grasp on Corona.

Raiden mumbled something under her breathe, "Doubt it."

Since she heard that, Yuffie said a rude comment about Raiden in Wuitanese. The girl looked up and hissed one right back her voice sounding harsher than before. There was no stopping a fight from breaking out as they yelled in their native tongue. Yuffie got into it and pushed Corona down, so she could get up in the other girl's face. Corona stood up and rushed to Vincent, since the yelling was scaring her.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked, looking up from a book.

"Well," Corona said and went quicker as she told the story in one breath, "I was swimming with Yuffie, then she pushed me away from her, and then I went under water. I don't exactly remember what happened next, except everything got really silent and I felt like I was dreaming and then I woke up on the shore. Cid's fish burned. Yuffie wanted to take me swimming, but Raiden wanted me to sleep, but I'm not tired. Now they're fighting. I didn't mean to make such trouble, I promise, Vincent. I would have taken a nap if it would have made things better, but I thought I had fallen asleep."

"Well...calm down now." The man said still processing what she was saying.

She slowly nodded and rubbed her hands against her arms, since a breeze of wind was making her colder than before. Vincent took off his cape and handed it to her, "Cover up some."

She struggled to find where her head went, but after that it was all good and she covered up as much of her body as she could and sat a few feet away from him.

Vincent looked back down at his book, "Did you have fun apart from drowning?"

She looked away from him as if he had never asked her anything in the first place. The man held back a sigh and hurt look before going back to reading.

Corona looked at his book and then away, but kept her comment to herself. There was a silence between them again it seemed. Another wall was being built up and refusing to budge.

Corona watched the two other girls fight, then gave her attention to Cid, and after all this she felt bored. She dug in her purse for her music player, placed her headphones in, and lied down. Whenever there was a song she really liked, she would play the air drums or hummed along with the song as she watched the clouds pass by.

The day seemed pretty laid back as of now and the music was enough entertainment for her, especially since on this particular song there was a lot of awesome parts with the drums, which was making her slightly excited. She even wiggled her foot some as she hit the air with invisible drum sticks. It was quite a sight to see.

Cid gave her a weird look from a distance, but went back to his cooking while his wife nagged. Corona was use to that. Weird looks, that is. Nobody ever thought she was completely normal, except for her father and that's something she missed: feeling normal.

She looked up and Vincent to see him still reading, which made her let out an audible sigh before she looked back to the sky. At least her clothes were dry now. Corona moved on her side with her back turned to him, since he was much too busy reading. _"Maybe coming outside was a mistake..."_ She thought. It certainly was when a hyper ninja was involved.

Cid noticed her glum look, which made his fatherly instinct want to go over there, and play with her or something, since Vincent didn't even seem to notice her with that book in his hand. Vincent just assumed she didn't want to talk.

Of course, she did though. She came out the house just for him, so why, she wondered, was he ignoring her? Her mind wandered about to different reasons why he didn't like her. Maybe it was because those scars; her ignorance; her age; or maybe it was just her in general. She began coming up with a list on why people didn't like her until she began rubbing her eyes and softly sniffling like she had done so many times when she was alone.

She just wanted to make him happy, but with all the things she thought were wrong with her it was almost impossible to. Corona softly sighed, moved her music player, and rolled out of the sun, closer to where the shade of the tree was. Her hair was picking up some dirt from the grass, but, with that apathetic feeling coming back, she didn't care. She just looked so detached and even when her music had stopped playing she just stared at absolutely nothing. It wasn't like there was anything worthwhile to look at.

"Vincent, what do you hate about me?" Corona asked; wanting to make sure she got everything on the list.

"Nothing," He said but never looked up.

"Are you even listening to me?" She asked.

"I am; there is nothing I hate about you," The man stated again since she didn't believe him.

"Are you sure?" She said, "You don't hate how I live? Or my hair? Or how I'm not as smart as other people even though I've been living longer?"

He shook his head, "I like you for you, Corona."

"Did you get that out your book?" She asked as she sat up with a blush.

"No, never."

"Are you sure? That line is the kind of stuff only perfect people in books say..."

"Can't I say what I think?"

"You can... But you're embarrassing me..."

"Sorry..."

"No! I mean," She looked away and mumbled, "Don't stop... I was just sayin'..."

Vincent smiled, "Well, alright."

"And, um, you're pretty awesome yourself," She said, looking as if she was struggling to say the words without blushing, "Just don't... don't get too attached..."

"I can't promise that." He stated.

"W-What? But you have to," She said, pulling on the end of her hair in hopes this would drain the color out her face.

"Well," Vincent said, "I just can't follow that rule if I'm already attached."

Corona's face was redder than the day she got some of it boiled off and she just had to hide her face. "Vincent, how can you say such perfect things?"

He chuckled, "I don't know."

"I've seen this type of thing on the television before," She said, still looking away, "But the girl was a whole lot better at this than I am."

"You'll get better." Vincent said.

"I don't know," Corona said, bringing her knees closer to her chest, but still kept her distance, "I don't know if that's the type of thing I can improve on. I think it's like kissing-either you're good at it or you aren't."

"People can improve on things like that too." Vincent said.

"How many girls are you kissing?" She asked, jokingly.

"Right now I hope the one who is sitting here next to me." The man said, seriously.

"T-That can be arranged," She said with a new blush as she moved closer to him, but she couldn't bring herself to move to the point where he could just lean over and do it. The man just looked amused and leaned over the rest of the way no matter how far it seemed and placed his lips on hers. Corona's whole body tensed up, before she could bring herself to move her shaky hands up to the crooks in his neck.

The man moved back, "I'm sorry... was I too rash?"

"N-No," She said and looked down, "You were just really... sweet. It wasn't as rough as I was use to. I was expecting you to hurt me..."

"Oh...well I would never intend to hurt you." Vincent stated.

"I know, you're different," She said, "I don't have to worry about messing up as much."

He looked confused, "What do you mean messing up?"

"I'm just not as much of a screw up around you," She said softly, "I'm still bad, but I'm better, that's why you don't have to punish me..."

"You never were bad or a screw up..." Vincent said.

"Oh, but I am," She said as if she needed to convince him of this, "Everyone's always said it. It's just a fact. For a time I must have been so bad because they didn't even call me 'she', but they called me 'it.' Except for dad, but he's nice like you."

"I won't let anyone treat you like that anymore."

"It is okay, Vincent. I was just bad; it was a punishment. You don't have to put so much effort into something like me… Thank you though. Not many people are so nice to me."

The man sighed and leaned back over this time brushing his lips against her forehead, "Don't think too lowly of yourself."

Her heart began to flutter when he did this and to show him she cared what he was saying, she placed her hand over his. "It's so hard to change what I was made to believe. Do you know what it's like to have everyone just to expect you to fail?"

"Yes..." Vincent mumbled.

She said softly as she moved her body a bit closer, "I never expected anything from you since the moment I met you and you haven't done a thing to disappoint me yet. As far as I'm concerned, you're as good as it gets."

"You know," He said, "You may find this comment odd, but I don't think I'm good enough for you..."

"You're just perfect," Corona said with a soft smile, before brushing their lips together in a soft kiss that was way too short for his liking.

"I could say the same for you." Vincent said.

"You don't have to," She said, giving his hand a soft squeeze, "I haven't felt so happy in as long as I can remember..."

"It's the truth." He said as he leaned closer to her making their lips touch again.

Corona's kisses were very sweet for such a sad girl and when they pulled apart they both wanted to kiss more, but taking it slow seemed like it was for the best for now. "I hope you don't mind scars on a girl... They'll go away, but for now..."

"You're beautiful to me no matter what." Vincent said with his eyes serious and loving.

"Oh, Vincent," Corona smiled brightly, "When did you get so sweet?"

He chuckled, "You're good at bringing it out of me."

"I don't think I've ever done anything right," She said as she pushed some hair behind her ear, ""Not until I've met you anyway..."

"I'm sure you have done many things right before you met me."

"I can't think of a thing," She admitted.

"..I'm sure of it though." Vincent stated.

Corona shrugged, thought about it, and said, "I'm good at smiling."

"Well, that would be one of many things." He said.

"Smiling is easy," She said as a smile grew on her face, "The trick is meaning it."

"Hmm, I see."

"Can you tell when I'm faking it or not?"

"Sometimes."

"Yeah, when you gotta cry, you gotta cry, but I think I've had enough time to practice it."

"Only smile when you are happy."

"Is that an order?" Corona asked with a soft smile.

"Of course." He said.

"I hope I can remember for your sake." She said. Vincent just chuckled slightly as he leaned back on the tree. She followed by example, leaned back; by now she was leaning against him and closed her eyes. Corona didn't want to ruin the relationship with rushing into anything and she was sure Vincent would agree.


	18. Chapter 18

**I own nothing! Thank you for the reviews!**

It was just another day in Midgar with people busily walking down the streets and the sound of cars and other machinery was high in the air. It made a certain girl wish she was back in her peaceful, quiet town since all this noise was not something she was use to. She sighed and looked up at the smoke filled sky that the sun was shining through with all the might of a summer day.

"Yet another beautiful day in Midgar." She mumbled to herself as she leaned against a wall, waiting. She hated summer and winter. Spring and fall were the best in her opinion.

"Yo," Reno called out as he moved through crowds to his girl.

Raiden removed herself from the support of the wall and gave him a happy smile as he maneuvered through the mass of people. He was hard to miss with that hair and all.

He was bouncing around through the crowd, saying yo, and when he was in front of her he held out a little package with a surprise inside.

The girl took it but looked up at him curiously, "What's this for?"

"It's a present, yo," He said with a smirk.

"Hmm, sneaky, sneaky," Raiden said with a slight smile as she opened it up to see what was inside. It was just a simple looking necklace that made her think of magic.

"Thank you, Reno!" The girl said as she abruptly hugged the man, "You're pretty good at picking out stuff."

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head softly. "You're welcome. I thought I'd make up to you for not hanging out yesterday, yo. I was just too caught up in work."

"It's fine." Raiden said, "I got dragged to go swimming anyway and let's just say all sorts of madness went down."

"Elaborate, yo." Reno said as he pulled away from her.

"Uh, well, " Raiden said as she picked up the necklace from the box and attempted to put it on, "I was just walking and, BAM, Corona grabs my arm, so I'm drug off swimming. Ended up Yuffie was actin' all stupid and managed to drown the poor girl. Cid had to run over and give her CPR even though I knew it...I wasn't about to tell anyone at that moment though, That would be awkward. Anyway, the girl's fine and Cid's beautiful fish starts burning on the grill. That ruined my day, but after that Yuffie decided, well, Corona looks just peachy might as well take her swimming again. We start arguing about it and then I say mumble something in Wutain she hisses an insult at me in and next thing you know we're yelling at her for the rest of the day in that language ..." The girl sighs, still having trouble with the necklace, "Can you help me?"

"Of course, yo," Reno said as he took the necklace and began placing it on, over her hair, "I'm sorry your day sucked. It wasn't fair you just got dragged along like you did."

"Well, it was interesting if nothing else, but Cid ended up having to break up the argument when it went from words to actual fighting. I should've been smart like Vincent and read a book, being oblivious to what was happening." Raiden said.

"He's always doing that. Reading, I mean," Reno said as he clipped the necklace and let it fall, "Was Cid mad about having to break up a fight?"

"Thanks." Raiden said, "Well... he was laughing. I'm guessing it was at me..."

"Maybe he's just a happy guy, yo," Reno offered.

She sighed, "Nope, I was the one he had to hold back and he just was laughing, because he said he never knew I had such a fight in me..."

The red head smiled down at her. "I can believe it, yo."

"I'm not proud of it...fighting that is. I just can only take so much." She said and then added lightheartedly, "I gave her a black eye though! I didn't think I could hit that hard, but that's not something to be happy about..."

"Next time, you should make her bleed, yo," Reno said with a smirk.

She shook her head laughing, "Stop encouraging me to be more violent than I already am."

"I think it's awesome that you can kick ass, yo!" Reno said, "Not many girls are so strong!"

"Nah, that was pure luck." Raiden stated, still smiling.

"Well, pure luck must happen often for you, yo," He said, seeming like he was proud of her for hurting someone, which he was.

"Not really," She shrugged, "I'm usually only lucky at being unlucky."

"Regardless, it's still awesome you gave her a black eye, yo," He said.

"Thanks." Raiden said being happy she had been praised.

Reno thought for a moment and then spoke up, "So, did you ever find a good restaurant yet, yo?"

"Mhmm." She nodded, "It's not too far away from here. It's a little hole in the wall of a restaurant, so it should be pretty good."

"Is that a fact, yo?" He said in a smug tone.

"Well, what are you gonna do about it if it isn't?" She asked in an amused tone with challenging eyes.

"I think, I'll have to start a scene, yo," He said and sounded like he meant it.

"Fair enough," She said and then started walking, "C'mon before I decide to walk faster."

Reno smirked as he followed her to this new place. Like the girl said it wasn't that far away and the sign was defiantly one you wouldn't notice right away when you passed by it. They walked in and were greeted by the store owner to which Raiden replied in Wutain that made the woman happier right away. After being seated they were given menus and Raiden seemed pleased that she had found a nice place already.

"This place it cool, yo," Reno commented as he looked at the menu.

"Yeah, and the owner likes us already." Raiden said, "Do you see anything on there that you want?"

"I have no clue what half these things are, yo," He said, only half joking.

Raiden leaned over some, looking at the menu upside down from her side and began pointing to things, "You might like this it's like a beef dish thing, oh! Maybe this...but then again I don't know if you want something raw...Umm… that one is pretty good; it's like a dumpling thing. I make that for Tseng sometimes.."

"Here," He handed the menu to her, "You order whatever you think I will like, yo."

She sighed, "That's a lot of pressure, but if you say so." The girl then turned her attention to the waiter walking over to their table.

"Ready to order?" He asked. The man looked young and his accent was thick. Raiden nodded and switched her language over which surprised the waiter. He grinned in an amused manner at her as he wrote down what she ordered and then walked off after he said what one could only assume was just a repeat of what she said she wanted.

"Alright, I think I ordered the right thing..." Raiden said, when the waiter walked away.

"I'm sure it's fine, yo." Reno said, having faith in her.

"But still..." She sighed lightly, "First impressions are everything; Food especially."

"I'm not too picky, yo," Reno stated as he began playing with the salt shakers. Raiden just glanced around the restaurant. There seemed to be more Wutianese people than anything. She began listening to some conversations that were around her and started laughing. She had to cover her mouth when she overheard two old wutianese women and how mesmerized they were by Reno's hair. You just didn't get that color when you were Wutainese. The man was too busy in his little game to even realize all the people staring. Even though many people in the restaurant kept on glancing over at their table, in fact it wasn't just a few it was everyone.

"Looks like you got some fans." Raiden said almost laughing.

"What do you mean, yo?" Reno asked, looking around. Sure enough the people who were looking snapped their heads back to their own table, acting like nothing happened.

"They like your hair." Raiden stated.

Reno ran his fingers through his hair and felt his silky pony-tail. "Yeah, it's pretty nice, yo."

"Yep" Raiden said, "Red is uncommon. Especially in Wutai. Everyone has shades of brown and black, even my hair color would be considered a normal shade even though I got it from my mother, who isn't Wutainese at all."

"That's interesting, yo," Reno said as he thought about this little fact.

Raiden sighed as she picked up and examined one of her chestnut locks, "Sometimes I wish my hair was a more exciting color."

"I think that color looks perfect on you, yo," He said.

She gave him a confused look, "I doubt that."

"You doubt my opinion, yo?" He asked with a smug look.

She nodded, "Yep."

"That's not cool, yo," He stated with a smirk, "You should be nicer to me."

"You shouldn't lie then," Raiden said, jokingly.

Reno shook his head with a smirk before asking, "Are you glad to be out the hospital, yo?"

"Mhmm." The girl nodded, "I'm just glad I don't have to see my dad for awhile."

"That's always a plus, yo," Reno said with a shrug.

"Yeah..." Raiden said awkwardly as she looked down at the table. Thankfully the awkwardness didn't last too long because the food arrived not a moment later. The male looked down curiously, but didn't ask and just started eating.

After he had taken a few bites Raiden asked nervously, "Do you like it?"

"It's really good, yo," Reno said as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Are you just saying that?" She asked to make sure.

"I mean it, yo," He said, reassuringly.

The girl smiled before looking down and taking a few bites of the food on her own plate. Sure enough it was tasty, maybe even tastier than she remembered this dish ever being, but aren't restaurants like that? She was just happy that she got something right for today.

Reno didn't think too much about it, since he knew she would succeed from the beginning and even if she hadn't he wouldn't have been mad.

After the food was eaten and people were done staring at hair, it was time to leave the restaurant and go back out into the streets of sunny streets of Midgar.

"So, what now, yo?" Reno asked with his hands in his pockets as he looked around.

Raiden was looking up at the sky, frowning at the brightness the sun decided to cast upon today, "I don't know. I guess anywhere, but standing around here all day."

"Where do you prefer standing, yo?" He asked with a smirk.

She laughed slightly, "Out of the sun."

"But anywhere is fine, yo?" He questioned.

She nodded and then glanced at all the people passing by, "Yep."

"Well, that doesn't really narrow anything down," He said as he scratched the back of his head, trying decide where to take her next.

Raiden sighed, "Sorry."

"I was just teasing you, yo," He said and ruffled her hair, "You can come to my place if you want."

"I guess that's fine." Raiden replied, just wanting to be somewhere air conditioned.

"It isn't exactly the Chateau La Cheneviera, but it's alright, yo," Reno said as he led her down the streets of Midgar to find his home.

The girl nodded, "I've had to move so many times as a kid a house is just a house to me."

"Moving is not so bad, yo. I wish I could move, but this is the only place I can afford right now," Reno admitted.

"At least if you move you will stay in the same town. Every time I had to move it was a new town, new school, new people, new everything." Raiden said

The man shrugged, "I guess. It doesn't sound like a bad deal though. You can always make new friends, be whoever you want, and no one could say no."

"That sounds like living a lie." Raiden said.

"Lies aren't always a bad thing, yo," He stated.

"Then I guess I was too stupid to do that as a kid," Raiden said, "I was just so use to people already not liking me I figured well, I am what I am."

"They probably didn't know you that well, yo," He said.

She shrugged, "Maybe but unlikely."

Reno didn't say anything about the topic after this and just took her the rest of the way to his house. It was a really open house and while things were lying about it just made it look like it had more space.

"Looks fine to me," Raiden said, thinking it was just as normal as any house.

"Thanks, yo," He said as he slipped off his shoes and then went and sat on the couch that was next to the wall.

Raiden followed his example by slipping off her sandals and went over to the couch as she said, with a sigh, "Summer has to be my least favorite season."

"I really hate sweating, yo," Reno said as he rubbed his head, feeling hot and lame.

"Same here, " Raiden said as she sat down, "At least in winter everyone encourages you to stay inside like you would die if you didn't. Except when it's like the coldest day of the year and it snows and then bam, it's okay now to get frostbite now and-...sorry I guess I'm rambling now." She sighed again, "I really need to think before I say things or it comes out as stupid."

"Nah, I like hearing you talk, yo" He said with a yawn.

"Most people say I have an accent, but I really don't hear it." Raiden said looking puzzled as if she was thinking about this matter too hard.

"Most people don't, yo," Reno stated.

"I mean, people say even Tseng-" She looked slightly shocked, "Oh Gaia, I just heard it."

"Calm down, yo. It's cute," Reno said with a smirk.

The girl blushed, "It sounds so stupid though."

"I think I just said it was cute," He stated.

She looked away, face still lightly flushed, "You and your opinions."

"You love them, yo," He said, smugly.

"What of it?" She asked, trying to sound challenging.

"You're just sassy today," Reno said with a smirk.

"Sorry," Raiden said with a laugh, "I guess it just means I'm use to being around you now."

"I think that's good," He said in a teasing tone, "But if you're gonna be sassing me, I don't know, yo."

"I'll try not to do it," Raiden said with a serious face that then turned back into a smile as she added, "a lot."

Reno rolled his eyes and leaned over to brush their lips together. The girl looked confused until the distance between them got shorter and then that confused looked was replaced with a more flustered one.

"Don't act so shocked, yo," He said with a chuckle.

"Sorry." Raiden mumbled.

"I wasn't mad," Reno said softly.

"Ohh..." The girl said, seeming a little happier, "But still..."

"Don't worry so much, yo." He said before giving her another kiss. She, at least, felt less embarrassed this time, making her wonder how long it takes her to get use to things. Of course, Reno was more focused on kissing her just right.

He just kept at it until he got a call from work, asking him to come in since a worker had screwed up with making a bomb and they needed his help. "I gotta go to work, sorry. I'll make it up to you, yo."

"It's fine..." Raiden replied.

He gave her one more kiss, before leaving her.


	19. Chapter 19

**Yo, it's been a while since I've updated. Sorry about that! Thank you for the reviews and I would prefer if you kept them coming. I do not own **_**Final Fantasy VII.**_

"Yo, Raiden," A certain red head said with a smile as he came to take the girl from her house to wherever her heart desired.

"Hey," The girl said, sleepily. She was fully dressed, but looked like she had just woken up.

"Do you wanna go hang out at the park or something, yo?" He asked as he took one of his hands out his pocket and offered it to her.

"Yeah, sure," Raiden replied, taking his hand and then yelling to Tseng, "Uncle, I'm going somewhere because that's what I do."

"Alright?" She heard her elder reply in a confused manner.

She yawned as she shut the door behind her with her free hand. Reno began leading her down the steps of her house and to the street before he said, "Do you want something to eat before we go, yo? There is a convenience store on the way."

"I usually don't eat breakfast, so it doesn't matter." Raiden said.

"Well, for later, yo," He said.

"Oh-yeah, that's fine." Raiden said and then rubbed her still tried eyes, "Sorry, I'm still a bit out of it."

"Did you not sleep last night?" He asked with concern.  
>Raiden sighed."I just had some stupid nightmare that kept me up."<p>

"What happened, yo?" He asked.

"I don't know, just the usual, crashing and falling of buildings, followed by screams, blood and all that good stuff." She sighed again, "Gaia, I hate that nightmare..."

"How long have you been having it, yo?"

She shrugged, "Few years, maybe. It usually doesn't start this early in the summer though, but whatever..."

"Maybe it'll go away, yo?" Reno offered.

"I wouldn't be so sure on that, but it's a nice thought." Raiden replied.

"Well, if you need to talk about it you can call me whenever, yo," Reno said and ruffled her hair.

"Alright, thanks." She said with a smile, even though she knew she just couldn't. It was part of a memory that has no use to be brought up.

The red head lead her inside a store, just choosing whatever he wanted and welcomed her to do the same. She just chose a few simple things since she knew she couldn't hold out from food for too much longer. She didn't eat breakfast because she wanted to, she just slept through it. After everything was chosen and paid for, Reno lead her to the park. The girl looked around curiously at all the trees and flowers that were green and blooming. There was even a pond there with ducks playing happily in it. The man settled into one of the empty swings and placed the bag on the ground.

Raiden sat in the one next to him, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat, "It's nice here."

"The weather is great today, yo," Reno said, pointing out the obvious.  
>"Is it really?" She question with a smile.<br>He looked ahead and flatly said, "Yes."  
>"You alright?" She asked.<br>He turned his head slightly and smiled, "Yeah."

"Hmm." Raiden said looking like she was studying him for a second. He just kept that goofy look on his face. "I'm on to you." She said.

"Is that a threat or a promise, yo?" Reno smirked.

"It's a threat." Raiden said, keeping a straight face, "And a promise."

"I'm not too worried, yo."

"Oh, but you should be!" The girl said, laughing slightly.

"You're the least of my concerns, yo," He said with a smirk as he watched some woman that was jogging with her friend.

Raiden just sighed and looked over at the pond filled with ducks. The girl just silently watched the ducks play and waddle in the water. There wasn't much to it other than that, which was fine with Reno since he just enjoyed spending time with her.

"Have you ever had a pet, Reno?" Raiden asked, still eyeing those ducks.

"I've had a fish, yo," He said, "What about you?"

"I was never allowed to have any pets." The girl replied, sighing slightly.

"They're really not all that great, yo." He stated.

"I wouldn't know...I've just always thought having an animal to take care that loves you unconditionally and all that good stuff would be fun," The girl said, taking one last look at the ducks.

"Nah, some animals never love their owners, yo," He said, "I've always heard it depends on your soul, if you believe that stuff."

"They probably would have nothing to do with me then..." Raiden said, looking disappointed.

"I never said that was accurate, yo," Reno said.

"Well, I mean, people don't like me, animals seem to avoid me. I've never hung around kids too much, but they would probably not like me either. So I must have a pretty screwed up soul," She said as she looked at the ground.

"It's probably just because you're so shy and seem fragile, yo," He stated, "No one wants to hurt you."

"Fragile...never heard that applied to me before," Raiden said, "Doesn't that mean weak? I get that a lot."

"I don't mean weak, yo," He said, "You just come off as someone who you need to protect."

Raiden smiled, "So you'll protect me, right?" She then looked away quickly saying, "That was a stupid question...never mind."

"It's only stupid, because I've already said I would, yo," He said, sparing her a glance.

She laughed, "Guess I have bad memory, but hey, what's new."

The man shrugged as he watched more people walk with their pets and/or children.

"Can I tell you something, but you have to promise you won't laugh, alright?" She asked.

"Alright," He said.

She nodded, "So, you know my name...doesn't it sound a bit, like a bit harsh sounding for a girl."

"I've never really thought about it, but I guess, yeah, yo," He said.

"That because..." She sighed, "It's not a girl's name...

"So?" Reno said, not thinking it was as big of a deal as she was making it.

"So, my stupid father gave me a boy's name." Raiden said with a huff.

"And?"

"And nothing." She shrugged and then stood up, "I'm gonna go play with the ducks."

"Do you want me to come, yo?" He asked, slowing down.

"If you want," Raiden replied, already getting a head start towards the pond.

He didn't hesitate in following her to where they ducks were swimming, flying, or eating. The girl was already sitting down next to the pond trying to get ducks to waddle over to her.

On the belief of her having food, a few came over, but were disappointed to see the false advertising.

"That's cool." She sighed watching them walk away.

"You should bring some food next time, yo," Reno said with a smirk.

"I don't want ducks to just use me for food." The girl stated still looking disappointed.

"That's why they're here though," He stated.

Raiden laughed, "To eat? That's great."

"It's your new life, yo," Reno joked.

"Pssh." Raiden said as she dipped a hand in the water, "Guess I'll get use to it."

He smirked as he sat on the ground near her feet. "Be careful they might bite you, yo."

"They can have at it" Raiden said

He chuckled and ruffled her hair.

She smiled, "I'm just saying I'd like to see them try."

"They'll hurt you, yo," He stated with a smirk.

She laughed, "Well, not if they're smart."

"Are you gonna snap their necks, yo?"

"Gaia, I ain't that violent!" The girl said, "I'd chloroform them at most."

"What if you killed them?"

"...Then, you take care of the bodies."

"I never agreed to this, yo!"

"So, sorry, it's too late."

"I don't know, yo..."

"I'm not gonna be killing any ducks, Reno." Raiden said, laughing.

"I wonder sometimes, yo." He said with a smirk.

"Oh Gaia, you already think I'm a murder. I don't wanna know what else you assume about me." The girl joked.

"You are a drug lord too, I bet, yo," He said.

"Oh, you better believe I am," Raiden said with a wink.

He lied completely down and looked up at the sky. Some ducks took this as an opportunity to run over to him and tug on his hair. The red headed man began flipping out and pretty much threw a duck in the water.

"And I'm the murder here?" Raiden exclaimed as she fell back on the ground trying to keep herself from going into a laughing fit.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Duck!" Reno exclaimed.

Raiden just covered her mouth with both of her hand attempting to suppress her laughter.

"Stop laughing, yo! It was an accident," The man said in protest.

The girl shook her head laughing even harder now.

"S-Stop it, yo!" He pleaded.

"Sorry!" Raiden squealed as she tried to catch her breath and slow down her laughter,

"It's still swimming, yo," He said.

She sat up trying to stabilize her breathe, "Gaia, you're gonna kill me too here in a minute."

"It is still living, yo!" He said in his defense!

Raiden lightly tugged his pony tail and said, "You gonna throw me in the lake now?"

The man pouted, looking like a sulking child.

"Aww, don't be like that!" Raiden said, "It was cute."

"What if I killed it, yo?" Reno asked.

"Pssh, ducks are strong." Raiden said, "Don't worry about, okay?"

"Alright, yo," He said and checked his phone for the time before standing up, "But listen, I got to go. Do you need me to walk you home?"

"It doesn't matter." Raiden said with a shrug and then stood up also.

"Well, what do you want, yo?" He asked.

"I don't want you to be late for anything." The girl stated.

"It's just Rude, yo," He stated with a smirk.

"I don't want him to hate me though," Raiden said, "if I made you late and all."

"We're just gonna drink some, yo," Reno said.

She sighed, "You can walk me home, but tell him I said sorry if you are late because of it."

"I'll be sure not to, yo," He said as he began walking up the hill with his hands in his pocket.

Raiden walked behind him saying, " I hope that is referring to the being late part."

He smirked, shook his head softly, but didn't explain anything to her. The girl eventually caught up and walked beside him, while she occupied herself looking up at the sky. He whistled as he looked in front of them, since he didn't want any accidents. The girl did have a habit of running into people.

There wasn't all that much said on the walk there and just like he would every night before he dropped her off, Reno gave her a quick kiss and used his hand to move some hair out her gentle face. He wished her a good day, gave one last kiss, and left her with Tseng for the rest of the day.


	20. Chapter 20

**A little longer than usual, sorry about that. Thanks for the latest reviews, I really appreciate the feedback. If you have any suggestions (**_**I said suggestions not rude comments, please take note of that)**_** I would like to hear them. I do not own Final Fantasy, but Corona and the story belongs to me.**

There wasn't much to today. It was just another fair weathered day outside, since it was only the beginning of summer. Vincent was taking some store bought juice out of his fridge as he thought of places he could take Corona. He figured anywhere she desired was fine with him and left with a bottle of her favorite juice in hand. After walking through her massive garden he knocked a happy beat on her door and waited for her beautiful face to grace his presence,

She answered the door with a smile and was rubbing her eyes. She was still in her pajamas. She slept through mornings, since she thought that was the worst time to be awake. "Hello, Vincent. You're looking rather happy today."

"Happy to see you." He smiled, handing her the juice.

She blushed lightly as she took the juice from his hands. "Thank you," She said and moved aside, "You wanna come inside? I woke up during this show about dolphins. Did you know dolphins have mustaches when they're born?"

"Sounds interesting." The man said as he walked inside the house.

Her living room was cleaner than usual and on the table was an opened package. "Do you want something to eat or drink or something?" Corona asked as she shut and locked her door; something she did every time she was near a door, since being burned. It was mostly a fear of someone coming in and doing it once more.

"Coffee, if you have any." He said as he sat down on the couch.

She nodded before disappearing into the kitchen to make it for him; not wanting to admit the boiling water scared her.

The man waited in the living room as he watched the rest of that dolphin show. He found it to be quite interesting and the dolphin sounds still reminded him of how they met. After that show were some commercials advertising things of no importance. He was left him alone, unless he joined Corona in the kitchen, but was that needed? He glanced back where the kitchen area wondering how long she had been in there. Coffee didn't take that long to brew, did it? It only took a few minutes at the most, but that's it.

He began to worry and stood up to check on her. When he walked into her rarely used kitchen, she was nervously biting on the end of her finger and making attempts to pick up the bowling water off the stove with her free hand, but as soon as she got near the pot she jerked it back, being taken over by fear.

Vincent rushed over to her and quickly turned off the stove. "Sorry, I forgot."

"I-It's okay, I almost had it," She said, feeling a bit more relaxed when the water's bubbles slowly stopped.

"Don't worry about the coffee." Vincent said.

"I can make it though," Corona said, nervously playing with her finger as she looked at the hot water.

"No, it's fine." He said as he gently placed an arm around her to lead her out of the kitchen. She didn't protest to this and let him take her back to the living room, since that idea of hot water even touching her was enough to make her feel like she was having a panic attack.

"Sit down and try to relax." He said, softly.

Corona followed his orders; however, it was difficult to relax when she could remember the flesh on her skin boiling right off. In fact, it was making her move her hands anxiously, first pinching the end of her fingers and then tearing up the box on her table, before she moved it to Quebec's eyes, and then back to her fingers.

Vincent tried to direct her mind to something else, "Would you like to go anywhere today?"

Her blue eyes looked up at him for a second, before back to her lap. "Oh... I don't know. It's hot out and I don't have anything appropriate to wear. I got a magazine for summer fashion and I don't have any of it. Plus…all those girls are pretty and have darker skin than me."

"They simply tanned from the sun." Vincent said.

She took out a magazine that was under the package and opened it up on her lap. "No, look… They're so pretty..." Her fingers softly traced their figures as she took in their revealing outfits that showed more skin than she ever thought she could.

"I see, but aren't they showing too much skin?" He asked.

"No," She said in a defensive manner as she looked up with him with her innocent eyes, "They're so beautiful, Vincent. You don't understand, but they are. They get to show that much skin because they're beautiful and perfect and- and they're just so amazing..." She turned her eyes back down to the magazine before quickly flipping to a page she had marked with a girl wearing short-shorts with tattered ends and a bikini top. "She's my favorite..."

Vincent just nodded. "Well, alright..." He didn't understand women sometimes.

Corona looked at the images, wishing she could be as pretty as they were, before sighing softly. "One day I'll be that pretty."

Vincent looked at her with a confused face and said, "But you are prettier than all these women. Wanting to be their pretty is a grade lower than what you already are."

She looked down at her magazine, feeling herself blush again, and softly bump against him. "Stop it. You're so silly sometimes."

"I'm just stating the truth." He said.

"You're just too nice to say anything else..." She said as she set her magazine on top of her package. The man smiled and looked back at the television

"Would you like to go somewhere?" Corona asked.

"If you would like to." He replied.

She thought for a moment before she said, "Well, I was really hoping you would decide, because I don't know much about outside."

"Well, would you like to go shopping for more hair dye or art supplies?" Vincent asked.

"No, I already got some new hair dye last night. I hope you don't mind, but I went by myself. The store doesn't close until late..." She said, feeling guilty.

"No, it's fine," Vincent said, "Do you need to pick up anything else?"

"Not really," She said, "So, I guess there is no reason to go out, is there...?"

"Well...there has to be some reason to." Vincent said, thinking.

"We could go get you some coffee," She said in attempt to be helpful.

"If that's what you want." He said.

"Why don't we do what _you_ want?" She said with a silly looking smile on her face.

"That wouldn't do, since I want to do only what you want."

"That can't be true, Vincent," Corona said and lightly punched him on the shoulder, "C'mon! Make a decision!"

"My decision is whatever you want to do." He stated.

"Oh, that's no good," She said with a hopeless sigh.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I just don't know what I want to do. It's still so early to decide anything. The sun is frying my brain."

"Alright..."

"You should tell me about yourself," Corona said, believing this was an excellent idea.

"What would you like to know?" He asked.

"Oh, everything! That would be so wonderful. You can tell me about your favorite colors, animal, and other stuff. And you can tell me about what it was like before we met and stuff like that," Corona said, already looking interested and ready to ask questions.

"I like dark colors." Vincent said, "Animals, I have little interest in, and before we met...I'd rather not remember."

"Why? Did you not like it? Were people mean to you?" She asked, curiously.

"It was just complicated like everything else in life." The man sighed, "It is better now, life that is."

"Everything is complicated...?" She said curiously as wrapped her arms around him. "I don't know what you mean by that, but here's a hug. Hugs are simple, so now you have something simple. Are ya' feelin' happy now?"

A faint smile appeared on his lips, "I always feel happy around you."

Corona gave him a soft kiss on his cheekbone. "You're too good to me, Vincent. I don't know how I ever lived without you."

"Well, I don't know about that." The man said.

"It's true," She said as she slid back down onto the couch. "You were there for me when I needed someone and you could have left. Nobody except dad has done something that nice for me. And you are so sweet too. It's like getting a new toy every time you say something."

Vincent shook his head still faintly smiling, "I'm not that great of a person"

"Well, I think you are," Corona said before giving him another quick, tight hug.

"Thanks..." The man replied, feeling like maybe he wasn't alone anymore. Just maybe he could forget all his sins and live again. This was just a quick thought though that got pushed back, deeper into his mind consumed by Chaos himself. He knew he needed to try harder to keep thoughts like that.

Corona giggled lightly since Shion had said something to her. Unlike Chaos, Shion was a little motherly towards the host, but still didn't lose track of what she really was. It was one thing they shared: demons. Whether they were good to them or bad, they had them.

"Hey, Vincent," Corona began as she ran her hands repeatedly over some of her hair, "I hope you like me better than Yuffie. She's louder, but... I think I can beat her if you gave me the chance."

"She doesn't have a chance against you." The man replied, "Plus I don't think she'll be coming to pester me or you anytime soon."

"Why?" She asked, looking a bit alarmed by this news.  
>"Well, she is still mad at me for not helping her when we were at the lake." He replied.<p>

"Oh, yeah... I hope she is okay," Corona said.

"She's had worse." Vincent stated, "I just didn't want to get in the middle of it."

"Maybe she's really hurt," Corona said, "She needs to be more careful if she wants to be allowed outside."

He sighed, "She had it coming though. Yuffie really needs to learn not to push people."

"She wasn't pushing anyone," Corona said, "Raiden was still standing up straight before the first punch was thrown. There wasn't any pushing, Vincent."

"I mean to push someone as in push them too far into anger." He explained.

"Oh..." Corona thought for a moment. "Is it bad to do that?"

"Well, yes, since you can see what happened." Vincent said.

"So pushy people get hit?" Corona asked, thinking that maybe that had been her problem with Skyler all along.

"Only if they are annoying." He stated.

The girl smiled as she said, "I get it now. It all makes sense."

Vincent nodded not really knowing what made sense to her, but he might as well go with it.

"I guess I'm getting better, right?" She said with a smile. "You haven't hit me once, so I'm not as pushy or annoying. I'm good now, right?"

"I would never hit you regardless of anything you said or did." Vincent stated.

"So, how will I know...?" She asked.

"Know what?" he asked

"If I make you upset or if I'm bad," Corona stated.

"I couldn't imagine you even doing that." The man said, "I guess I could calmly tell you if you ever do."

"No, it's easy, you can hit me," She said and took his right hand to make him hit her on the head. "See? It's easy. I'll listen if you hit me hard enough."

"No, there is no reason for me to hit you at all and I will never do that." Vincent said as he took back his hand.

"You have to though," She said in a nervous voice, "I'm too stupid to learn any other way."

"Don't say that."

"B-but it's the truth..." She mumbled softly.

He shook his head with a sigh. "Not to me."

Corona looked at her lap, not knowing what to say to cheer him back up.

"Like I said, don't ever worry about me hitting you," Vincent stated.

"What if you don't mean to, but you do?" She asked.

"I promise I won't."

"Promises are forever, Vincent."

"I know."

"Don't break your promise, okay?" Corona said in a warning tone, but he knew she wouldn't do anything if he actually did, but he nodded anyway.

She leaned back on her couch, watching some television show that was going on about the latest news in Midgar. It wasn't exactly interesting to her which was clear by the expression on her face. The show was actually making her quite bored. Vincent glanced over at her wishing he could do something to ease her obvious boredom.

Corona didn't seem to notice him looking and it was like she was in her own little world now, even the black in her eyes was growing dramatically and looking as it would could cover her whole eye. She seemed preoccupied with whatever she was thinking about. The black soon consumed her eyes and leaked out the sides, but she didn't snap out of it. Her thoughts were going way too deep for her to even noticing Shion's doing. The man looked rather confused at this scene before him.

She squeezed her eyes shut, which returned her eyes back to their seemingly normal stated, except for the black that leaked out. "Do you know what you wanna do yet?" She asked when she was feeling back in it.

"...No." The man said; blinking twice to make sure he was still seeing the blackness.

"You need something to eat, don't you? You do that, right?" She asked, not really noticing his staring.

He shook his head, "No...I'm fine."

"Did something happen in the last few seconds?" She asked.

"I don't know." He reached his hand up to her face and gently wiped the strange substance off with his fingers.

She looked at him curiously. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing now," He said.

Corona took his hand to see what was on it and then nodded like she understood. "That's nothing to worry about. Shion does that to me sometimes. It isn't contagious or anything."

"...Oh." Vincent said as he wiped it off on the redness of his cape, "That's good to know."

She nodded as she rubbed the sticky, black liquid off her face. "I'm sorry. I should have told you about that."

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I'm just not use to company," Corona said, "So I forget things like that happen."

"It's quite alright." The man said.

"Did I scare you?" She asked.

"No, not at all." Vincent said.

She smiled softly at him. "If that happens again tell me. I don't want you touching that black stuff..."

"I don't mind, but alright." He said.

Corona yawned before she leaned her head on his shoulder. "...You should spend the night sometime."

"Maybe I can tonight." He suggested.

"Do you need some medicine?" She asked and looked up at him for a moment.

"Hmm? Why would I?" Vincent asked.

"I have to take medicine, so I don't have to eat. Then I have some so I don't get sick easily. There are some for my panic attacks. I have some others, so I don't become tired as easy and I have some for my heart. I have some so I can't dream," She said, "Do you need some?"

"No...No, thank you." Vincent replied; shocked at the amount of medicine she took.

"What's with that look on your face?" She asked.

"Nothing," He said, and looked back at the television.

Corona sighed lightly to herself, counting in time to the beat of Vincent's heart. The man continued to look forward, still thinking.

"Whatcha' thinking about?" She asked and looked up at him.

"Nothing." he said again, "I guess I'm just tired."

"You can go lie down in my bed if you like," She said, "I just put clean sheets on the bed, so it should be comfier than usual..."

"Alright," Vincent said, "Only if you don't mind..."

"Of course not," Corona said, "You can sleep there as long as you want."

"Um, alright," Vincent said, standing up.

She stood up with him, but then quickly sat down again, feeling embarrassed.

He smiled lightly as he inquired, "You'll be there soon right?"

She blushed as she struggled to turn off the television without making it obvious how embarrassed she was becoming. "I should take some medicine before I join you..."

He chuckled before leaving to get some rest.

Her room was cleaner too, but, like before, she made sure it stayed sunlight free. Just as promised, the sheets on the bed were new, crisp, and cool. The bed held a light scent of flowers and vanilla. In the middle of the bed was Quebec who was staring at the top of the canopy bed with a blank expression.

Corona joined him just as he looked up where the bear was to see a little glow-in-the dark moon. She slipped under the covers with a smile, shut the curtains so no light could come in, and lied down. Vincent hoped they would both have a nightmare free night.

"See ya' when I wake up, Vincent..." She said softly as she slid her hand under her pillow to feel the corner of a picture she had there. "I love you."

He smiled in the darkness, "I love you too, Corona."


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey! It's been a while since I've updated, right? Anyway, I don't own **_**Final Fantasy VII.**_** Enjoy and review!**

"What's wrong?" Tseng asked, looking up from the paperwork.

"Nothing!" The girl replied quickly. She was silently cursing herself for deciding to dress to stay cool. Her shirt showed more of her back than she liked and for good reason. She was even leaning against the wall earning an odd look from her uncle.

The man sighed, "Well, can you drop off the report I've been telling you to take for the last ten minutes?"

"...of course, uncle..." Raiden replied weakly as she stood up straight; not letting her weight rest on the wall anymore. The man looked at her. She wasn't saying or doing anything to tease him or try to be cute or funny. No, she was listening. Something was wrong in his eyes.

The girl grabbed the file and walked out cursing short hair now. If she had longer hair this wouldn't be a problem. If it was as long as her front it would fix this predicament she was in. Now all she could do was rush down the hallways, praying no one would notice what she knew was there. Most people in ShinRa just pretended she didn't exist in the first place though, so what was she worrying about?

It was just a thought in the back of her mind as she walked briskly to some higher ups office, and dropped off the file while getting scolded for being late, and then she left just like that. Raiden let out a sight a relief. That was easy, but now there was walking back that was the problem.

What would she do if someone saw? Deny everything they said about it? Sounded okay to her. What if they insisted though? What if they lifted up her shirt to show everyone? Well, there would be an extremely angry Tseng to deal with, but that wouldn't take away what happened.

She let out a shaky sigh, "...I hate Mondays..."

No one heard her talking to herself, but if they had maybe they would have called her crazy. The girl continued to walk down the hallways, getting closer and closer to uncles office until she felt her whole body fall back and a thud on her chest.

"Oi, Raiden!" A familar voice said as in its familar accent.

"Cait..." The girl sighed, as she pushed herself up with her hands making the robotic animal climb on her shoulder and balance itself by holding onto her face. All the girl could figure was that he wanted to play at the most inconvenient time ever.

"What are you up to, lass?" Cait Sith asked as his tail went side to side against her back.

"Trying to hide out somewhere," She said, "Are you bored or something?"

"Aye," The robotic feline said with a nod.

"Well..." She sighed, "I got nothing else to do today, so I guess I can." Raiden smiled but still the thought of getting out of people's sight was still in the back of her mind.

"You'll play with me?" He asked, since there had been no mention of playing in the first place.

She laughed, "Yeah, what else would I be talkin' about?"

Cair Sith didn't reply to that, but instead jumped off her shoulder and said, before running off, "Catch me if you can, lassy!"

The girl without thinking ran after him saying, "Not cool, Cait Sith! Making me run like this!"

"You said you'd play," He said as he ran like on all fours, increasing his speed.

"Alright, alright; Ya' got me there!" The girl said as they went around a corner.

The cat was outrunning her, since he was a robot and a cat; however, she continued to chase after him. This confused the heck out of the people they ran past since no one knew what was really going on. Raiden was close to running into some people to which she moved quickly to avoid. The girl was actually quite good at dodging and evading things when she wanted to.

"Wait till I tell your Uncle!" An angry man who she made drop all his papers yelled.

"Go for it!" She yelled back with a laugh. Raiden was convincing herself that cat would get tired eventually. Gaia knows she was, but this was Reeve's creation, so it wasn't likely. The inevitable happened which was the girl holding herself up with a hand on a wall trying to catch her breath. "Stupid...cat..."

"What is this I hear about your slacking?" She could hear her uncle's stern, serious voice appear behind her.

"What? Who? Me?" Raiden asked, turning around to face him while slowly walking backwards.

"Yes, you," He said sternly, "You are to report back to me once you deliver papers. You are working now, not playing."

"I was chasing Cait Sith." She said, stepping back again, "Had to get him back to Reeve..."

"Reeve can retrieve his _toy_ himself," Tseng said and grabbed her wrist, so she wouldn't go anywhere, "You are not losing this job."

"Yes, sir... Raiden mumbled.

"We will talk about this again when we return home," He stated as he drug her down the halls and back to his office.

The girl sighed knowing that meant an hour long rant on why she was acting stupid. She should have known better. And worse yet now people decided they were going to pay attention to her since Tseng was dragging her down the hallways. Luck wasn't on her side today and the way Tseng was pulling her arm was making things worse for her as her shirt moved up. Some people stared, but what exactly do you think about that? Everyone there had a scar or two. They weren't as bad as hers, but they were working for ShinRa, so their bet was she got caught in some battle. A few planned on asking later, but not with Tseng around. That would be too risky.

"I'm sorry, uncle." The girl spoke up. Her voice sounded upset and the look on her face was so scared it could soften anyone's heart, but it was for a more of a different reason than being in trouble right now.

He simply sighed and shook his head. Raiden continued to look at the ground, not even daring to say another thing to him. He took her to the office and began on some paperwork, expecting her to be a good little puppy and listen. The girl remained looking like this for the rest of the day not even cheering up a bit like Tseng expected her to.

It was part of the punishment. A punishment that was well deserved even though she was more upset about being drug around than anything else. It was like she was a child.

**Long_Time_No_See_!_!_!_!**

Corona's sleep was dreamless thanks to her medicine. She just couldn't stand anymore nightmares like she had been having after Shion arrived. It was just better this way and kept her safe from any new memories that may appear.

She lied on her side with a soft sigh. She liked it like this with Vincent next to her. He helped keep her bed warm, which was even better for her because her body never seemed to give off enough heat to keep it as nice and cozy like it had been for the past few times he had been sleeping there.

She had woken up closer to him today than she expect, but it wasn't like she was complaining. His steady heartbeat was calming to her while she slept. Now though, since she was awake, she moved away from him, so the noise could no longer be heard. She lightly smiled at the memory of it, believing she was truly fortunate for having him, while her heart ached ever-so-slightly, because of how she so easily betrayed Skyler.

"_How,"_ She asked herself, _"Did I not try harder to hold on? Is it really that easy for me to leave _

_a man who claimed he'll marry me?"_

She made out Vincent's figure in the darkness before shutting her eyes again to continue her thoughts. _"Vincent is awfully handsome, though, and has never been cruel to me, but that's how Skyler started out. He said the same things, but never held try to those sweet words. Maybe Vincent will do the same... but I don't want to believe that. He will be different. This will be different. I will be different.  
>"I can try that blonde hair dye out and blue eye contacts will do. Just like that girl in the magazine. I'll cut it too and straighten it. Vincent is sure to love it. Change is what is needed, but can I really succeed?"<em>

Corona sat up, looking at her hands in the darkness. Honestly, she wasn't sure if change was the best thing. He loved her like she was, so would change make him hate her? Should everything just stay the same? But what if he sees someone better? She sighed softly, pulled her knees to her chest, and closed her eyes since she was feeling that overbearing sadness hit her again. She didn't know why it was happening to her now, but she'd be damn if she'd let it get the better of her.

She must have been like that for quite awhile since Vincent noticed her distressed figure in the darkness. He sat up letting his black hair fall out of his face and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She lied and, even if he couldn't see it, she smiled.

"...You don't look fine." Vincent said, softly.

"It's dark, Vincent, you can't see me," Corona stated.

"I know, but I can still tell." He said.

She rubbed her eyes and said, "...You're right. I'm no good at lying..."

"Even so, what's wrong?" Vincent asked.

"I miss my dad and I miss being happy all the time. Now I'm only happy with you and if you leave I'll never be happy again," She said and wanted to cry from admitting it, but did her best not to, "I get so lonely and I have no friends, Vincent. Why doesn't anybody like me? I try so hard to be nice and never yell, but everyone hates me and they punish me for everything I do. Why can't everyone be like you or dad?"

"They just don't know you that well. I'm sure if they did you would more friends than you wanted." Vincent said.

"It's because I'm a freak," She said, hiding her face in her knees, "I'm never gonna be like you, Yuffie, Cid, or Raiden. I'll always be a freak and no one is gonna be my friend. I'll be alone forever... I don't want to see the world end, Vincent. Why couldn't they just let me die? It is so lonely living here and my heart always feels like it aching and it's like the whole world is moving on without me and all I can do is watch."

"You're not a freak." The man stated.

"Then why am I not like anyone else?" Corona asked, "Why can't I at least be normal enough to have more than one friend?"

"Maybe it's because you don't get out very much." Vincent said, "And normal is just how one looks at it."

"It's so dangerous though..." She stated.

"Isn't everything though? Taking risks is just something people have to do in life."

"I can't..."

"Don't say that so soon."

"No, Vincent, I _really_ can't. Dad will be upset if I leave the house too much..."

"Corona..." Vincent said, "All of these problems you have are leading back to the fact you don't go out much. Maybe you should try to get out a little more; perhaps volunteering somewhere or getting a part time job will help you meet more people."

"My father will be upset if I leave too much," She said, sounding distant now as if the sadness was pulling her away, "He won't love me if I go away, so I have to stay here. You don't understand."

"He isn't here anymore, Corona..." Vincent said

"He's gonna come back and I'll be waiting for him when he does..." She said as she tried to sound okay and felt a tear escape from her eye.

Vincent sighed, "I really don't think he is coming back, Corona..."

"He'll come back... He's just too busy for me right now, but when he's done... He'll come and we'll be a family again..." She said, choking on a sob.

Vincent stayed silent. He knew that would impossible, since her father had been dead for many years.

But what did Corona have to hold onto now? She needed this right now. She needed to feel less alone and even if it made her sob, she could try to work out a story in her head that would make everything okay. Her heart ached and she wished her dad would come to say calming words while holding her and stroking her hair like he had done in the past when things were so much better for her.

If there was any way she could feel like her old self she was willing to try it, since her father was the man who raised her, saved her, and gave her anything she wanted, except for freedom. Now, the idea of leaving and chancing her father's wrath scared her.

She hugs her legs tighter, trying to stop her sobs, but it was no use. She had lost like always. Vincent moved over closer to her and attempted to comfort the poor girl.

"I-I'm sorry," She said between choked back sobs and hugged herself even tighter.

He shushed the girl and wrapped his arms around her, "It's okay..."

She pointlessly wiped away the tears, only giving room for new ones. "I'll be better... You're right. My dad isn't coming back... ever..."

"...I'm...I'm sorry." was all he could think to say.

"Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault," She said in an fragile tone and kept her thoughts to herself this time.

He stayed silent again. What do you even say to someone who lost a parent? I'm sorry just doesn't cut it.

"So, you think I need to get out more, huh?" She asked with a pathetic laugh as she wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand and sniffled.

"Well, it wouldn't be bad for you." He said, softly.

Corona moved herself away from him. "Vincent, did I ever tell you how sick I was before I got Shion...? She is supposed to help me, but she gets tired sometimes. If she stops for too long, I'll die from some random illness. Going out _there_ is too dangerous for someone like me..."

"I wish you would just give it a try..."

"...Would that make you happy?"

"It doesn't matter if I am happy or not. I want what's best for you," He stated

"How would this be '_best'_ for me? I just told you I could die... Is that what's 'best' for me? Death?"

"No, you won't die."

"How do you know?"

"I just do." Vincent said

"And if you're wrong?" She asked.

"Then if you happen to face death so will I."

"...You're stronger than me though..."

"I wouldn't say that."

"You wouldn't say a lot of things, but it's true..."

"But you are stronger than you think." He stated.

"That's kind of hard for me to believe right now," She said and lied back down, since her head felt heavy.

"I know, but all it takes is you trying to believe it is so," Vincent replied, "but for now you may want to get some rest..."

Corona nodded and sighed. "I'm so tired..."

Vincent lied back down, but was still kept close to her, "If you have any bad dreams or get upset again don't hesitate about waking me up."

"Alright... Thank you, Vincent," She said and a soft smile came across her mouth, "Good dreams..."


	22. Chapter 22

**I don't own **_**Final Fantasy. **_

It was just a matter of time before anything happened. Before there was any change that happened; it just depended on who you were and what you were waiting for. If things didn't go according to the agreed plan then there could be a problem and frustration with the situation. That was just how it was.

The man checked his clock, waiting for the time to pick his woman up. They had planned it and if it didn't work according to plan nothing was going to be done. He needed to leave soon or he was going to be late. But what did he even have planned that required a time? Something special that was for certain.

He checked his clock, not sure if he should just go retrieve her because what if she forgot? But if he did that it might show he doesn't have faith in her. He did however. He sighed softly to himself as he paced around in her yard, waiting for her to come outside with whatever outfit she had chosen, so they could leave.

The girl came out not a minute later dressed in black shorts because of the summer months, a simple fitted t-shirt, and a vest worn open to match. The outfit didn't take long to find it was just when your uncle is still scolding you for something you did long ago it takes some time to leave the house.

"Sorry." Raiden said, shutting the door behind her, "He is still mad."

"That's cool, yo," Reno said, "We aren't late."

"Bring a cat into the house and then someone happens to allergic." She sighed, "I think he's just being difficult about it."

"You brought it when he said no, yo?" Reno asked, skeptically.

"It was cute." Raiden stated.

"That was a bad idea all together, yo," Reno stated as he began leading her to their destination.

"No, chasing Cait Sith down the hallways at work was a bad idea." The girl said.

"You're just full of bad ideas, aren't you, yo?" He joked.

Raiden smiled, "Pretty much, never had a good one in my life."

"You should work on that, yo," Reno said and took her hand as they began entering the more crowded parts of the sidewalk.

"But still, he didn't have to over react that much." The girl said with a sigh.

"Well, he recommended you, so if you fail you put his job on the line too, yo," He explained.

"He wouldn't lose his job though. I would just get fired. Plus, I don't think a Turk can get fired, only killed." Raiden said, seeming to know a bit more about ShinRa than one would think.

"When did you become an expert, yo?" Reno asked with a smirk.

"My uncle is the head of the Turks," Raiden said with a smile, "And I happen to listen more than he thinks I do."

"Impressive, yo," He said as he lead walked with her through a crowd; he wasn't really leading her, but keeping a steady pace, so they could stay right next to each other.

"Nah...It might get me killed one day." She said.

"Hey, don't talk like that, yo. You're not gonna get killed if I can help it," Reno said.

She laughed, "Just sayin'."

"I hope this movie is good, yo," Reno said, when he saw the cinema in the distance.

"It should be." Raiden said, "What is it anyway? Horror, romance, comedy, action?"

"Action, yo," He stated.

"Good." She said with a nod of approval.

Reno nodded as he paid for the tickets. "Do you want some popcorn or something, yo?"

"Sure." The girl replied as she looked around the lobby of the theater. It was pretty simple set up and before she could even think of something to say, Reno had the popcorn and was leading her to the room their movie was showing in. It was a classic action movie with plenty of fighting, a great story line, and a bad ass main character. It was a two hour movie that would make Raiden be home a little later than Tseng would approve of, but really what was he so worried about? They hung out plenty before without anything happening. This was such a good movie too, so it should be acceptable, right?

The girl at least thought so, then again she wasn't thinking much since she was staring at the screen. Sadly, Reno didn't try to lay any moves on her, mostly because he was into the movie also.

After the movie ended, Reno began to take her home since it was almost ten-thirty at night, which was later than Tseng approved.

"You act like he's going to kill you." Raiden commented.

"He just might, yo." Reno said, sounding serious.

"Nah, he is usually all talk." She said.

"That's what I'm afraid of, yo," He said with a smirk.

She laughed, "It isn't that bad."

"Maybe you're immune to it, yo," Reno said, "But when he starts I can feel myself aging."

"Yeah, true; sometimes I can get him to feel bad and stop talking-Only sometimes though." Raiden said.

"So... He does know what love is, eh?" Reno said with a smirk as he rubbed his pretend whiskers.

Raiden laughed, "Only sometimes. I have to literally start crying for him to shut up."

"Is he that bad, yo?"

She shrugged, "It depends on what I do. I don't mind though I like knowing he cares."

"I guess that's one way to look at it, yo," Reno said.

"Well, I guess I look at it like that because I've heard a lot of the yelling out of hate too and he's never done that to me." Raiden said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, yo," He said and gave her a sympathetic look.

"It wasn't that big of a deal." She said.

"But still, it sucks to be around yelling all the time, yo," Reno said.

"I'm not around that much anymore. Tseng hardly raises his voice." She stated. The girl thought for a moment, "Do you think Tseng will let me keep Cait Sith?"

"Considering that's Reeve's cat, I'm gonna have to say no. Sorry, yo," Reno said with a smirk.

The girl made a face of disappointment, "Well...I guess that's true."

"Maybe when you move out you can get a cat, yo?" Reno suggested.

"I guess." Raiden sighed, "I don't see that happening anytime soon though."

"Do you not have enough Gil, yo?" He asked.

"Pretty much, and the fact Tseng might die without me." Raiden said smirking at the last part.

"Are you afraid of him relaxing too much?" Reno teased with a smug look.

"He's gotta have someone to keep in line." She replied with a smile.

Reno chuckled and shook his head.

"You know he's gotta at least be nagging someone to survive the day." Raiden stated.  
>"I'm glad I don't live with him then, yo," he said.<br>"You better be." The girl replied.

"I just have to stay in a house by myself, yo," Reno stated with a smirk.

"Pssh, lucky!" Raiden said.

"I guess, yo," he said with a shrug.

"I've never lived alone before." The girl said before jumping over something on the sidewalk.

"It's good when I wanna be alone," he stated.

"How often is that?" She asked, curiously.

"Whenever I have a bad day, yo," He stated.  
>Raiden thought for a moment, "I've never seen you have one of those."<p>

"That's because I never have a bad day with you around, yo."

"Aww, whatever." Raiden said, feeling embarrassed.

Reno smirked as he led her up the steps of her house before saying, "Good night," and delicately kissing her.

"G'night, Reno." Raiden replied with a smile.


	23. Chapter 23

**Ohhhh, review and stuff. Also, I don't own **_**Final Fantasy.**_

Summer was still upon Midgar making the heat outside difficult to deal with if you weren't use to being outside, or you lived in Costa de Sol before moving here. Wearing long sleeves would be a bad idea if you couldn't take the heat. (Wearing long sleeves in general during summer was a bad idea.)

Luckily, it wasn't overbearingly hot, so anyone could go out if they had shorts on, but after a while they would probably want something cold to eat. That was a must if you didn't want to die and dying was something Vincent Valentine didn't have in mind today as he led Corona down the street. It took some convincing getting her out of the house but Gaia knows she needed it on a day like this.

She drug her feet slightly and felt out of place. She had to wear a dress since that is what she had with short sleeves, but it was making her feel like everyone was starring. She pulled down the front some more, hoping no one was looking at her.

The red caped man just kept on walking not noticing anyone really since it so freakin' hot. He sighed wishing that maybe, just maybe, he could wear something else besides this heavy cape and black clothing. It wasn't a rule he had to follow, he was just use to wearing this.

"Where are we going?" Corona asked and turned her eyes down when she saw some people staring.

"Anywhere you want." He replied, wiping his forehead. He really needed a new wardrobe.

"Let's go home. It's too hot to be out," She said in a pleading tone.

"No," Vincent said, sounding exhausted, "We both need this."

"Why?" She asked, just wanting to turn around, go home, and sleep like she was use to.

He sighed, "I am beginning to ask that myself." The man walked past men's clothing shop, did a double take and calmly walked back to the store. He led the girl inside for some reason and then grabbed the first pair of jeans, shoes, and shirt he saw.

"I'd like to purchase this." Vincent said, placing the items on the counter.

"Alright, sir; would you like to wear this out?" a perky woman asked as she rang up the clothing.

"No, I just walked into your very expensive store to buy clothes I have no use for." Vincent dropped some Gil on the counter, "Have a nice day, ma'am."

The testy man grabbed his bags, leaving Corona standing awkwardly by the checkout counter and went to the dressing room.

"Hi, I'm Corona," She said to the cashier with a smile.

The girl looked a little confused by the sudden greeting, "Hey...?"

"Do you like aliens? I think they're gonna come one day and take over the earth. What about you?" Corona said.

"You're one of those people, huh?" The woman stated, rolling her eyes some.

"What type of person am I?" Corona asked, looking curious and placed her pale hands on the counter.

"Nothing," The girl sighed and started picking at her nails.

"Sorry I took so long." A newly dressed Vincent said as he walked up to Corona.

"Our shop's clothes really suit you! You have such long legs, are you a model?" The cashier asked, now seeming giddy again.

"...Thank you, ma'am," Vincent said, seeming a tad freaked out, "I have no desire to do any modeling however..."

"Vincent, what type of person am I?" Corona asked, still feeling confused.

"I don't know; a nice one?" He replied as he took her hand and led her out of the store, but not before that lady gave him a cheery" Come back soon."

Corona slowly nodded and tried to figure out why she got such a bad look if she was a nice person.

"I feel better now." The man said even though his voice seemed glum. He really hated heat.

"That's good," She said, looking around at all the people that were out on such a hot day.  
>The man just shrugged and stopped by a stand selling watermelon slices. He held up two fingers, got what he wanted, and gave the seller some Gil.<p>

"Here." Vincent said holding out one of the pink and green fruits pieces to Corona.

"Oh, thank you, Vincent," She said with a smile and took the cool fruit into her hands, but was startled when after taking only one bite it started leaking down her arm. She licked up the juice, not wanting it to get on her clothes.

"Here's a napkin." Vincent said with a chuckle.

She was so focused on eating this fruit and keeping her clothes dry she forgot she was out her house; She forgot that her dress was too short for her liking; She forgot how hot it was; and she forgot about how much she wanted to go home. All her attention was on this gift she was given. It wasn't often she actually ate, but she was sure most food wasn't like this.

The man just smiled at her, seeming pleased she was enjoying the food. He himself was quietly munching on his watermelon as they walked, except he was somewhat skilled at not getting any juice on him whatsoever.

Corona licked her lips to stop the sweet juice from dripping down. "I forgot how complicated eating can be..."

"You're doing fine." Vincent said as he used a napkin to help wipe off some of the juice.

"This was really yummy though, so thank you," Corona said with a big smile and then tried to eat the green part of the watermelon, but then scrunched up her face in disgust. "The green is gross."

"That's the rind." Vincent said as he took it out of her hand and deposited it in a nearby trashcan along with his, "That part gets thrown away."

She nodded, rubbed her mouth on her arm, and when everything felt better she smiled at him. "You sure know a lot about everything." She said as she pulled down her dress, because it had lifted itself up slightly.

He shrugged, "No one can know everything."

Corona waved to a person who had been starring at her flawless legs and creeping up her body. "I think I'm gonna make friends with that guy," She said, not understanding why he quickly turned away.

Vincent grabbed her wrist, "That's not a good idea."

"Why? He looks lonely," She said and gave the man another glance.

"Just don't." Vincent said, dragging her away, "Look there's ducks over here...near this pond...not near him."

"Ducks say quack and eat bread and fruit loops," She said and watched them swim.

He nodded, "You are correct."

Corona didn't have much to say about them, since birds weren't something she got into. "Why are you holding my wrist?"

"Sorry. I forgot I was still holding onto it." Vincent said, releasing his grip.

"Why did we come out today? Is my bed not comfy to you anymore?" She asked.

"I just thought we could both use some fresh air, well as fresh as it can get in a city." He stated.

"I feel the same as before, except hot and tired," She said with a pout and crossed her arms, looking like a sulking child.

"I know, I know." The man sighed, "Maybe this was a bad idea on my part."

Corona looked at her feet and wiggled her toes in her sandals. She didn't want to say anything too rude that would anger him, but she knew leaving her house was a bad idea.

"We can head back to your house if you like." He suggested.

Corona nodded and already began walking away. This experience only made her want to stay home more than ever. The man sighed and followed her. He at least tried.

She was so happy to be home and out of the heat. Corona went straight to her bathroom to take a cold shower and then got ready for bed. She wanted to sleep extra long, so she didn't have to deal with the outside world anymore. It was easier for her to block it out and believe what she wanted, even if it was wrong. Vincent however did not know her intention was to sleep.

She lied down in bed with an 'oof when he knocked on her door, still wondering if she was ever coming back to watch television with him.

"Yes?" She called out from her bed.

"I'm guessing you're going to bed at this hour?" He asked.

"Is there anything wrong with that...?" She asked.

"Oh no...I guess not." Vincent replied.

"... Do you need something?" She asked as she sat up in bed.

"No, I'm fine. Well...Good night, Corona." The man said as he stood behind the door.

"Good night, Vincent. Maybe tomorrow we can do something..." She said, feeling slightly bad.

He smiled even though she couldn't see it through the door, "Alright."

"It'll be our first official date, not just outings. So, try not to do anything crazy," She said in a teasing tone, but really she wasn't expecting anything.

"Alright, I won't." Vincent said.

"Good night, Vincent," She said as she lied back down, and put her hand under her pillow to feel the picture.

"Sweet dreams." The man said before walking away and back to the living room.


End file.
